Covenants of the Fathers

I was only eleven years old, and even now remember the perfumed smell of the rich cedar smoke as it drifted through the small and seemingly circular room of the log hogan. It was January, the Navajo reservation was cold and uninviting, yet, the warmth of the hogan was enticing after walking nearly a quarter of a mile from the truck. In the semi darkness of the fire it seemed like a dream as I stood with the silent members of the Navajo family. I watched in the heat of the haze filled room as the local shaman or "medicine man" squatted close to the open flame. The colored sand slipped through his fingers, and as if by magic formed an intricate circular design on the earthen floor. This sobering experience made a lasting impression in my mind as I was told when we left the home that the sand painting represented the world, light and darkness, male and female, and the creative forces used in their formation. I will never forget the reverie like feeling as I stepped out of the "white man's" world into an alien environment filled with myth and ritual.

Years later as an undergraduate, I began to realize that certain motifs continue to surface in the sea of cultural myth.^{^[1]} The most common "myth" in all societies recapitulates elements of the cosmic creation (i.e., the Cosmogonic myth) and the formation of mankind by the gods.^{^[2]} This Cosmogonic myth serves a single ritual purpose, to connect the two realities of heaven and earth. The process of bringing the visible and invisible worlds into a relationship with each other may be "accomplished through the metaphor, symbol, and allegory" of the creation.^{^[3]} Knowing that the scriptures contain three accounts of the creation; (Genesis, Moses and Abraham, and not forgetting the fourth version in the Temple) I began to ask those terrible questions: Why the creation of the earth and mankind? What makes this concept so important to a people or culture? Why does it show up so often? What is the relationship between God, the cosmos and mankind? These questions are not original, the nostalgia for our beginning lies within every person, religion, or culture. Myth, in a ritual setting, addresses the origins of humanity. It describes the "Golden Age" without death and sin, followed by the introduction of mortality. History is no more than a record of mankind's attempt to find and acquire the glorious pristine era of the past.

Barbara Sproul (non L.D.S.) in her informative and superb work, Primal Myths, begins her introduction with these insightful words:

The most profound human questions are the ones that give rise to creation myths: Who are we? Why are we here? What is the purpose of our lives and our deaths? How should we understand our place in the world, in time and space? These are central questions of value and meaning . . . ^{^[4]}

^{^[1]} A definition of the term "Myth" would be appropriate at this point. According to Mircea Eliade, Myths, Rites, Symbols, (New york: Harper and Row, 1975) pp. 2-7. "Myth" is not fiction or fable as the modern world understand it, but "myth" means a "true story". Myth "narrates a sacred history; it relates an event that took place in primordial time, the time of the Beginnings." Myth tells the "real story" of "that which really happened." Thus the term "MYTH" in this paper will imply and be defined as the "true story" of God's activities in the creation of the earth and mankind.

^{^[2]} Ibid., pp. 6-7. Eliade lists five functions of creation myths: "(1) constitutes the History of the Acts of the first parents; (2) This History is considered to be absolutely TRUE and SACRED (because it is concerned with realities). (3) that myth is always related to a "creation," it tells how something came into existence; (4) that by knowing the myth one knows the "origin" of things and hence can control and manipulate them at will...this knowledge that one experiences is done ritually by recounting the myth or by performing the ritual; (5) that in one way or another one "lives the myth, in the sense that one is seized by the sacred, exalting power of the events recollected or re-enacted." Barbara C. Sproul in Primal Myths, Creating the World (New York: Harper and Row, 1979) p. 2, echo Eliade's words regarding the creation myths: "Without it" (creation myths) "we cannot determine what things are, what to do with them, or how to be in relation to them. The fundamental structures of understanding that myths provide, even though in part dictated by matter and instinct, are nevertheless essentially arbitrary because they describe not just the real world of fact but our perception and experience of that world." Any endowment of power from on high that would come from myth and ritual must then contain the elements of the creation and our Heavenly Father's dealings with our first parents. This, in order that we might better understand our role in creation, and have better control of our salvation while here on earth. Johns Pedersen in his article "Wisdom and Immortality" in Wisdom in Israel and in the Ancient Near East, Ed. M. Noth and D. W. Thomas, Sup. Vetus Testamentum Vol III (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1955) pp. 243-244, states that these myths about the creation are "not dogmas" but narratives which "describe the work of God and characterize their mutual relations... which are expressive of the relation between God and man."

^{^[3]} Richard Heinberg, Memories and Visions of Paradise (Los Angeles: Jeremy P. Tarcher Inc, 1989), p.15.

^{^[4]} Sproul, Primal Myths, p. 1. Sproul indicates that the issues raised by these questions are addressed most directly by the creation myths.

^{^[5]} Moses called upon God saying Tell me, I pray thee, why these things are so, and by what thou madest them? Be merciful unto thy servant, O God, and tell me concerning this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, and also the heavens, and then thy servant will be content" (Moses 1:30, 36). These are the questions that led Moses into his great vision of the creation and understanding of the relationship of man with God. (See also Moses 7:29; Abraham 1:2; 1 Ne. 11:1-3). The questions from man must precede the answers from God, because the man must be prepared not only to ask the question, but prepared to be obedient to the light and truth he will receive.

^{^[6]} Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane (New York: HBJ Book, 1959), pp. 28, 30. Eliade states that the "religious man's desire to live in the sacred is in fact equivalent to his desire to take up his abode in objective reality," and that understanding the nature of the "sacred reveals absolute reality and at the same time makes orientation possible." This is necessary as the orientation that takes place "founds the world" and then "fixed the limits and establishes the order of the world." See also Elaiade's Myths, Rites, Symbols, pp. 2-10.

^{^[7]} Understanding reality, or the sacred can only come as we understand the creation. Myths of the creation, according to Eliade in Myths, p.7, are "the most general and effective means of awakening and maintaining consciousness of another world, a beyond, whether it be the divine world or the world of the Ancestors. This other world represents...the plane of absolute realities...which gives birth to the idea that something really exists, that hence there are absolute values capable of guiding man and giving a meaning to human existence."

^{^[8]} Jeremy Cohen, "Be Fertile and Increase, Fill the Earth and Master It" (London: Cornell University Press, 1989), p. 64. George Coats made the statement that "stability (and thus the power of royal man) comes only through the events God established with his people once long ago" This stability comes through the repeated acts of creation in a cultic setting which "can be accomplished only through the covenantal relationships" established with the patriarchs, quoted in Cohen pp. 47, 48. Elaine Pagels, Adam, Eve, and the Serpent (New York: Random House, 1988), intro. p. xx, reveals that "the biblical creation story, like the creation stories of other cultures, communicates social and religious values and presents them as if they were universally valid...Christians invoked the story of Adam and Eve to justify and establish their beliefs; how they saw their own situations, their sufferings, and their hopes mirrored in the story of the creation and the fall." Thus the Christians projected themselves into the story of Adam and Eve "as a way of reflecting upon such matters as sexuality, human freedom, and human nature."

^{^[9]} I. Engnell, "Knowledge and Life in the Creation Story" in Supplements to Vetus Testamentum (1955) vol. III p. 105, 106. R. T. Rundle Clark, Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt (London: Thames and Hudson, 1959), p. 264. For the Egyptians, all life was predicated on the reenactment of the events of the "First Time." The restoration of the "Golden Age was the chief object of ritual in the Egyptian Religion. See also note #14 below.

^{^[10]} David Jobling, "And Have Dominion" Journal for the Study of Judaism (1977), vol. VIII no.1 p. 56. Also on p. 58, Jobling states "just as earthly things

exist for human uses, so do heavenly things for the higher human benefit of self-realization through reason." thus there has to be power given to mankind created in the image of God and given His dominion. Cohen p. 12, states that "Gen. 1:28 places humans at the pinnacle of the world order; they are the partners of God in his ongoing work of creation. Addressing man and woman, God accordingly unleashes the powers that will ensure the survival of his creation in perpetuity, and unlike the ensuing account of human origins in Gen. 2-4, Gen. 1 thus lays the foundation for an intrinsically valuable human civilization even before people sin." This is "the dependence of the natural world upon the blessing of God"

^{^[11]} Pagels, Adam intro. p. xix, feels that the story of the creation and God's relationship with the first humans became "a primary means for revealing and defending basic attitudes and values." The influence upon western culture religious and irreligious was a surprise to Pagels as to "how complex and extensive its effect has been." She continues, "Many people who have-intellectually, at least discarded the creation story as a mere folk tale nevertheless find themselves engaged with its moral implications concerning procreation, animals, work, marriage, and the human striving to `subdue' the earth and `have dominion' over all its creatures."

^{^[12]} Sproul, Primal Myths p. 1. See also James Barr, "Man and Nature--The Ecological Controversy and the Old Testament" Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library (1972) 55:1, p. 9-32. Barr makes the statement that "The biblical religion...set man over nature and gave him authority indeed encouragement, to govern and control it..." (p. 11). Jobling p. 59, conveys the idea that "all things have been made subject to us--earth and water and air and stars--and that all things exist for our sake and are ordained to be subject to us."

^{^[13]} John Van Seters, Abraham in History and Tradition (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1975), p. 311. It is to the unbreakable promises made to the patriarchs that Israel in desperation would later turn. "Abraham becomes the focus of corporate identity and the lifeline of their hope and destiny." See also Genesis Rabbah, hereafter cited as G.R., ed. Jacob Neusner, Parashah 14:6, The rabbis infer that Abraham was to restore the blessings that were lost by the fall of Adam.

^{^[14]} William E. Phipps, Genesis and Gender (New York: Praeger Pub. 1989), introduction pp. xii-xiii, states that "Myths thrust persons beyond abstract concepts and scientific analysis and enable them to obtain a synoptic vision on matters of fundamental importance." Phipps continues that these creation myths "are their vehicle for transcending mundane reality and envisioning what is at least as true as descriptive accounts of nature...and convey perspectives on the Eternal's interaction with the temporal scene." Engnell, pp. 103-119, gives an excellent discussion on the creation text within the Old Testament. Engnell makes clear that his idea of this story "in Gen. 1 has had from the beginning a cultic association--in a form about which we know nothing." He feels that the narrative in Genesis about the creation and the beginning of the human race in the image and likeness of God was used in `some type of kingship ritual.' Cohen p. 45, implies that the ancient Biblical religion continued to link "creation and the motif of enthronement" as seen in its sabbatical and festival liturgy, as "God blesses those just created in his own image with fertility and dominion," may "betray a Near Eastern liturgical context by hinting at the royal investiture of the first human beings."

^{^[15]} Eliade, in Myths, pp.2-10, states that our world exists and that we are what we are because of the events that took place in "mythical times" or the time of the first parents. A knowledge of these "myths" or traditions provide mankind with "an explanation of the World and his own mode of being in the world, but above all because, by recollecting the myths, by reenacting them, he is able to repeat what the Gods, the Heroes, or the Ancestors did ab origine." This is done writes Eliade, that man may "relearn...that the world, man, and life have a supernatural origin and history, and that this history is significant, precious, and exemplary." Pedersen, p. 243, 244, agrees with Eliade, and Sproul in his statement that "myths are not dogmas but narratives which describe the work of gods and characterize their mutual relations and their relation to creation." Pedersen continues: "Thus these myths are expressive of the flickering relation between God and man. Man is related to the gods, a relation which appears in his wisdom. This is especially evident in the great man, the king...The kinship" (of man and God) "would be complete if man were also given immortality. He has been close to immortality, but still, he did not obtain it, and if he did so, he would no longer be human."

^{^[16]} H. H. Rowley, The Biblical Doctrine of Election (London: Lutterworth Press, 1950), p. 34. Cohen, p. 225, makes the statement that Gen. 1:28 "signifies election and the assurance of salvation when Christians `have been perfected as heirs of the Lord's covenant,' the conferral of whose rewards depend upon compliance with its demands." Thus the covenant blessings are repeated and renewed with each succeeding generation.

^{^[17]} This notion is not exclusive to the L.D.S. community. Cohen p.12, cites the comments of Welhausen and Elliger calling Gen. 1:28 the "initial covenant" and the "Goal of creation". This "initial covenant" with Adam provides the "substantive and terminological basis for God's subsequential pact (covenant) with Noah" and other patriarchs (p. 47). Cohen, quoting Augustine, (p.267) states that the covenantal promise was conveyed in the primordial blessing. Rupert of Deutz, (Cohen p.267) comments "It is evident that all the saints and elect, who by the grace of Christ are now called, justified, and glorified in various deserved ways...are of that blessing with which God blessed the first humans before their sin." John Goldingay "The Patriarchs in Scripture and History" in Essays on the Patriarchal Narratives, Edited by A. R. Millard and D. J. Wiseman (Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 1980), p. 18, states that "The theme of God's blessing, which is of central importance in Genesis 12-50, is in fact resumed from Genesis 1-11, where it already plays a key role...Genesis 1:1- 2:3 relates a series of divine commands through which the world's creation comes about, leading to a double climax (or a climax and coda) in 1:26-31 and 2:1-3. He, God, blesses man and speaks of his being fruitful and filling the land (1:28), thus itemizing the blessing in a way which anticipates the patriarchal narrative."

^{^[18]} Albrecht Alt, Essays on Old Testament History and Religion (Oxford: Blackwell, 1966), pp. 65-66, speaking of this covenant states that the "cultic and mythological elements" of the blessing of Abraham give the "impression of great antiquity." He continues in reference to the Abrahamic covenant passages stating that "a distinct and independent saga almost undoubtedly lies behind this passage...it would seem to be a genuinely ancient passage, standing first in the series of revelations by the God of the Fathers."

^{^[19]} William Sanford LaSor, David Allan Hubbard, and Frederic Wm. Bush, Old Testament Survey (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1982), p. 88. To secular scholarship these blessings are a new development. However, Abraham records these blessings came from Adam, and are not a new or "radical" change. Many L.D.S. scholars too have failed to recognize the connection between the blessings of Abraham and Adam. see note # 17 above.

^{^[20]} LaSor, p. 88. Cohen, p.47, asserts that the covenants of Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses each "demarcates a new phase in the movement from creation (or the fall) toward redemption."

^{^[21]} Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1966) p. 13. The explanation of the Abrahamic Covenant is the bestowal of the "priesthood," to have "eternal increase" and an "eternal inheritance."

^{^[22]} Traditional scholarship has only considered two (that of posterity and inheritance) to have been the key elements of the Abrahamic Covenant pattern. See Claus Westermann, The Promises to the Fathers, trans. David E. Green, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1976), pp. 2-30. Westermann quotes Noth, von Rad, and Alt, all dealing with the two factors of inheritance and posterity as the major elements of the covenant formula. Van Seters p. 269, recognizes the "two promise themes of numerous progeny and land" and submitting that the other aspects of the Abrahamic blessing (great name, and families of the earth blessed) are part of the two aforementioned blessings. Van Seters, p. 282 Gives the pattern in the blessing of Abraham contained in Genesis 15, and 17 as: "(1) A theophany with a divine promise stated in general terms. 15:1; 17:1-2. (2) Abraham's reaction in the one instance by an act of obeisance, 17:3 in the other by complaint, 15:2-3. In this he must prove his obedience. (3) The promise of an heir with numerous progeny, 15:4-5 or numerous progeny alone 17:4-6. (4) The covenant (berit) with Abraham and his descendants, 15:7-18 and 17:4-8. (5) The promise of land to Abraham and his descendants, 15:7 and 18; 17:8." Numbers 3,4, and 5 of the pattern are central to what Van Seters calls (p.288) a "threefold promise: numerous progeny, the land of Canaan, and the promise to be Israel's God." Thus posterity and inheritance is easily seen, the covenant (berit) is for the descendants to be Gods people and Yahweh to be Abraham's God. Inherent within this blessing is priesthood function and obligation. See also Alt, pp. 62-64.

^{^[23]} Bruce R. McConkie, The Millennial Messiah (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1982), pp. 260-265. McConkie makes the statement that "All the families of the earth, Jew and Gentile alike --whether composed of blood descendants or adopted son-- shall receive the blessings of the gospel only when it is taken to them by Abraham's seed. His seed are the ministers of Christ; they hold the holy Priesthood; they have received the divine commission to preach the gospel in all the world and to every creature. And what are the blessings they offer mankind? They are salvation and eternal life" (p.263).

²⁴ Rowley, p. 140, states that `Gentiles who accept the covenant may possess the heritage, since from the start it was destined for them, and it belonged to purpose of Israel's election (all the families of the earth shall be blessed) that she should mediate it to them.'

²⁵ This "election" to be or become the "seed of Abraham" is one of `service to and for the world,' her "mission is to the nations" (Rowley, p. 43, 45, 59-60). Cohen, p. 318 makes a statement about the chosen people, "the more commandment bound an individual, the greater his or her claim to divine election." When service to mankind is withheld the "election loses it's meaning, and therefore fails" (Rowley p. 52). The blessing and claim of "divine election" and being the literal descendants of Abraham was taken seriously in the time of Christ as James Talmage explains in Jesus the Christ (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret, 1986), pp. 58, 381 "In their relations with other peoples the Jews generally endeavored to maintain a haughty exclusiveness, which brought upon them Gentile ridicule. Under Mosaic law Israel had been required to keep apart from other nations; they attached supreme importance to their Abrahamic lineage as children of the covenant, `an holy people unto the Lord,' whom He had chosen `to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.'" Talmage explains that "Though they were of Abrahamic lineage in the flesh, they were no heirs of Abraham in spirit or works. Our Lord's mention of His Father as distinct from their father drew forth the angry reiteration, `Abraham is our father,' to which Jesus replied: `If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham'" (p. 381).

²⁶ Cohen, p. 14 states that the blessing of offspring and land "constitute the hallmarks of promise texts in the Hebrew Bible."

²⁷ Van Seters, p. 288, indicates that the promises of land and progeny are directly related to Abraham's obedience and righteous living. This oath and covenant becomes to Abraham an "irrevocable pledge, berit `olam to all Abraham's descendants." This is a major theme and covenant blessing throughout the Book of Mormon, see 1 Ne. 2:20-21; Either 2:7-12.

²⁸ Van Seters, p. 289, states that the promise of the land in Gen. 17:1 is "in the form of a legal land grant which is made as a possession in perpetuity both to the recipient and to his descendants."

²⁹ Van Seters, p. 227-278, reveals that Abraham receives the promises because he has lost these blessings upon leaving Ur. Thus the prophet is commissioned to establish a race with religious and racial purity to give Israel legitimate claim to the land. This concept is inherent in all cultures, Douglas A. Knight, in Tradition and Theology in the Old Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1977), p. 168, says "the nature and responsibility of humanity (Gen. 1:26-27) had to be pursued by all people in all situations anew.. This was especially the case in times when radical discontinuity, triggered by historical reversals or social change, yielded a need for reassessment and redirection." This is the case of Abraham as he is commanded by God to leave his family, and land and become a pilgrim in a strange land.

³⁰ Examples of using the "name" to establish an identity as a culture or nation is seen in the Old Testament as well as the Book of Mormon. In Genesis 11:4 the people decide that they must build "a city and a tower" in order to "Make a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." In the Book of Mormon "the people who are friendly to Nephi" give themselves a "name" which is done "according to the reigns of the kings" (Jacob 1:9, 11, 14) and were called "Nephites"

³¹ The claim on the "land of promise" or "choice land" as an everlasting inheritance is a theme that runs throughout the Book of Mormon. An excellent example of recreating an entire nation and people can be seen in the Book of Mormon as Lehi speaks of the covenants the Lord made with him saying:

"...we have obtained a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands; a land which the Lord God hath covenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever," (2 Ne. 1:5).

To Zoram who left his land and family the prophet Lehi bestows this blessing:

"Wherefore, because thou hast been faithful thy seed shall be blessed with his seed, that they dwell in prosperity long upon the face of this land; and nothing, save it shall be iniquity among them, shall harm or disturb their prosperity upon the face of this land forever. Wherefore, if ye shall keep the commandments of the Lord, the Lord hath consecrated this land for the security of thy seed with the seed of my son." (2 Ne.1:31-32).

Lehi is well aware of the promises of the Lord that pertain to seed and inheritance. He had received these covenants and had been given the authority to administer the same blessings to his righteous seed, and, as in the case of Zoram, even his adopted posterity.

³² Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1986), p. 139, The priesthood of God is delegated to man "by which man can act in the earth for the salvation of the human family."

³³ Fred L. Horton Jr., The Melchizedek Tradition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976) p. 124, states that the words melech tzadik are a title, and not a name. Horton feels that the person with that title is "a revealer of the priesthood."

³⁴ Horton, p. 122, indicates that R. Samuel bar Nahman, "agree that through Melchizedek the priesthood was passed to Abraham" (G.R. 43:6). The interpretation of Gen. 14:18-20 (Horton p. 120) is to be understood as the priesthood being passed from Melchizedek to Abraham, which concept is continued in later midrash. Horton discussed the relationship between Abraham and Melchizedek (p. 17) stating that the bringing of the bread and wine to Abraham was "an action of Melchizedek and would fall into the pattern of exalting Abraham." Rabbi Ishmael says, (G.R. 46:5) "Abraham was a high priest, as it is said, `The Lord has sworn and will not repent, "You are a priest for ever after the manner of Melchizedek"' A discussion of the relationship between Abraham and Melchizedek can be seen in Stephen D. Ricks "The Early Ministry of Abraham" in Studies in Scripture, Volume Two, The Pearl of Great Price (Salt Lake City, Utah: Randall Book Co., 1985), pp. 217-219. Ricks indicates that the name of Melchizedek might have a link with Abraham's desire to be a "greater follower of Righteousness." See also John Taylor's remarks concerning Abraham, the priesthood and endowment in (JD 21:159-160). Joseph Smith stated, in The Words of Joseph Smith, Compiled and edited by Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook, (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1981), p. 246, that the blessing Abraham "received under the hands of Melchizedek" was the "last law or a fullness of the law or priesthood which constituted him a king and priest after the order of Melchizedek."

³⁵ Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 13, "Abraham first received the gospel by baptism (which is the covenant of salvation); then he had conferred upon him the higher priesthood, and he entered into celestial marriage (which is the covenant of exaltation), gaining assurance thereby that he would have eternal increase; finally he received a promise that all of these blessings would be offered to all of his mortal posterity."

³⁶ Raphael Patai, On Jewish Folklore (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1983), pp. 128-129. See also A.M. Hocart, Kingship (London: Oxford University Press, 1927), p. 71, 124. Henri Frankfort, Kingship and the Gods (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978), p. 127, states that the Near Eastern king was required to "pass through repeated ceremonies at the various cities." This act was called in the Egyptian play of succession, "Marching through the mountains." Frankfort feels that there was a "processional march beyond the town where the performance took place up to the edge of the desert cliffs to establish dominion over the valley and the adjoining desert." See also G.R. 41:10.

³⁷ Frankfort, pp. 295-302.

³⁸ ibid., p. 252. Frankfort states that the duties of the King were threefold: "the interpretation of the will of the gods; the representation of his people before the gods; and the administration of the realm." Cohen, p. 17 reflects that the terminology and ideology of Ancient Near Eastern kingship "must entail concern for the welfare of its subjects; kingship without responsibility was universally unacceptable."

³⁹ Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine p. 140, states that this priesthood is the `authority by which God governs his people.'

⁴⁰ Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1985), pp. 657, 658. McConkie considers this priesthood the theocratic government of God. "Under it, there is no need for a civil power on the one hand and a religious arm on the other. All the affairs of government are intertwined into one with direction coming from God himself, by revelation to those whom he commissions to represent him on earth...The theocracy of the Adamic age was patriarchal, and from Adam to Noah all the legitimate powers of government, both civil and religious, descended from father to son."

⁴¹ Cohen, p. 44, writes that "the ritualized enthronement of the king, often accompanied by the rites of sacred marriage, typically dominated these ancient celebrations of the new year; the king, representing the deity and modeled after the primordial man, guaranteed fertility and prosperity on a day-to-day basis."

⁴² Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine p. 288, states that the "patriarchal order and authority of the home rests upon principle as well as upon the person who holds that authority." Also upon this "authority certain promises and blessings are predicated, and those who observe and respect this authority have certain claims on divine favor which they cannot have except they respect and observe the laws that God has established for the regulation and authority of the home."

⁴³ Joseph Smith lists three priesthoods in Joseph Feilding Smith's Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1976), p. 323. "The 2nd Priesthood is Patriarchal authority. Go to and finish the temple, and God will fill it with power, and you will then receive more knowledge concerning this priesthood."

⁴⁴ Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1985), pp. 312-313. "Celestial marriage is an `order of the priesthood.' It is the patriarchal order that opens the door to a continuation of the family unit in eternity. Those who enter this order of matrimony...will have a continuation of the seeds forever and ever." McConkie gives the insight that part of the covenant of exaltation is that we "promise to magnify our callings in the priesthood...and to enter the patriarchal order" of marriage. One of the key blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant is the continuation of seeds, which can only be accomplished in the order of eternal marriage. see also James E. Talmage, The House of the Lord (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1968), pp. 88-89. Talmage makes the inference that eternal marriage is the "order" that will exist in the eternal worlds.

⁴⁵ Heinberg, p. 71, quotes A. M. Hocart stating that the "first kings and queens were, without exception, priests and priestesses."

⁴⁶ Jobling, p. 70 states that Adam stands "simply as a symbol for the race as a whole."

⁴⁷ Engnell, p. 110 lists the man Adam in four categories using his name as "(1) Humanity, (2) Ancestor, (3) Primeval Man, and (4) Primeval King."

⁴⁸ Cohen, p. 44 contends that Gen. 1:28 "radically transforms the Near Eastern pattern of royal investiture, as it democratically confers fertility and dominion on humanity as a corporate whole." This is done in connection with the Kingship rites as the royal marriage takes place.

⁴⁹ Engnell, pp. 112-113.

⁵⁰ J. Maxwell Miller, "In the IMAGE and LIKENESS of God," Journal of Biblical Literature 91:3 (1972) p. 291. Miller makes the statement that the hebrew for "image and likeness" is translated correctly. "It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the "image of God" passages are at least reminiscent of the widespread view among the peoples of the ancient Near East that man is similar to the gods with regard to his corporeal appearance." See also James Barr, "Theophany and Anthropomorphism in the Old Testament," Vetus Testamentum 7 (1959) 31-38. Horowitz, p. 190, mentions the irony of the Jewish tradition which "accepted the physical and spiritual resemblance of human nature with God" and then forbids iconographic anthropomorphism, "while the Christian tradition which rejected a notion of physical resemblance" encouraged are portraying Adam and Eve as in the image of God. Gen. Rab. 8.11 states that God will create man in "My image and likeness" so that he will partake of the character of the celestial beings. see also Phipps intro. p. xiv; Cohen p.35; and Miller p. 296. Pedersen, p. 239, discussing the Egyptian wisdom of Meri-ka-re, states that the egyptians thought that the first humans were "issued from God's body as his images." Brevard S. Childs in Old Testament Theology in a Canonical Context (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985), pp. 188-190, discusses a number of traditions that state that after the creation of the first man, even the angels mistook Adam for God because he was so much in the "image and likeness" of his creator, see Gen. R. 8:10, also Alexander Altmann, "The Gnostic Background of the Rabbinic Adam Legends" in The Jewish Quarterly Review, (1944-1945), Vol. 35, p. 379-382.

⁵¹ Brown, Driver, and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1951), pp. 616-617. Hereafter cited as B.D.B..

⁵² Hugh B. Brown, Continuing the Quest, (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1961), p. 10, states that the creation of woman, established her status as a "companion" here and in the eternal worlds.

⁵³ Phyllis A. Bird, "Male and Female He Created Them: Gen. 1:27b in the Context of the Priestly Account of Creation" Harvard Theological Review (1981) 74:2 p. 133. Bird also feels that this verse (Gen 1:27) sets a "anthropology of equality" between the man and woman and then creates a "corresponding relationship within the Godhead itself."

⁵⁴ Maryanne Cline Horowitz, "The Image of God in Man-Is Woman Included?" H.T.R. (1979) 72:3-4, p. 187.

⁵⁵ Bird, p. 159. See also Spencer W. Kimball, in Ensign, March 1976, p. 71, "`And I, God said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let us make man [not a separate man, but a complete man, which is husband and wife] in our image, after our likeness; and it was so.' What a beautiful partnership! Adam and Eve were married for eternity by the Lord. Such a marriage extends beyond the grave."

⁵⁶ Bird, p. 159. Horowitz, p. 195, makes the statement regarding this equality: "Women therefore cannot claim they are too weak, for they have full strength in their soul which, like the male's resembles God." (This would be in relation to the concept of salvation). "Equally they share the privilege of creation in God's image, and thus equally can they be virtuous and do good works, and equally can they deserve reward or punishment for their deeds."

⁵⁷ Pagels, in Adam, p. 66, quotes a coptic text called the "Reality of the Rulers," stating that "when Adam first recognized Eve, he saw in her not a mere marital partner but a spiritual power" that was needed for his perfection.

⁵⁸ B.D.B. pp. 179, 180.

⁵⁹ When Christ speaks of marriage he returns to the Genesis text explaining the word "cleave" in the words "joined together" and the concept of eternal marriage:

"Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."

⁶⁰ Horowitz, p. 185. On page 189 Horowitz writes that "the dominant thread running through the Talmudic commentary was that the image of God in man is not complete until man and woman are together in the married, procreative state...through that legend, they emphasize that in the unity of man and woman there is the image of God." Genesis Rabbah 8:9, Rabbi Simlai says "To begin with man was created from the dust, and Eve was created from man. [Man without woman is dirt, woman without man has no existence.] There is no possibility for a man without a woman, nor for a woman without a man, nor for the two of them without the Presence of God."

⁶¹ Horowitz, p. 183.

⁶² Cohen, p. 35.

⁶³ Cohen, intro. pages 2, and 12. He also remarks (p.64) that by receiving this blessing of verse 28 the parents of humanity must "exemplify (God in whose image they are created) by meeting the charges of Gen. 1:28." To be like god we must act like God and thus must also be given the divine powers of God.

⁶⁴ Cohen, p. 64. The relationship between the coronation or enthronement motifs with the consecration of priests and the sacred marriage is illustrated in Geo Widengren's "Heavenly Enthronement and Baptism" in Studies in the History of Religions: " Religions in Antiquity" vol 14, ed. Jacob Neusner (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1970), pp. 551-582. The ritual of marriage is in essence a reenactment of the creation and the enthronement of the first parents of mankind. This endowment of power or marriage is to receive the blessings that will reverse the fall of Adam and Eve, and to bring back immortality and eternal life. See also Heinberg, p. 109-111, 115-129.

⁶⁵ Cohen, pp. 65, 51, States that "while the verbs are expressed as imperatives, they are not so much commands as authorizations by which the people are empowered, to believe and act toward the future." If this statement is true then there would have been no "conflicting commandment" in the garden, posterity and sexuality does not become an issue until mortality presents a reason to maintain your immortality through posterity.

⁶⁶ Cohen, p. 39.

⁶⁷ Cohen, p. 33, Upon this verse, Cohen believes, hinge all covenantal relationships with mankind and God. It is, according to Cohen "a formularized guarantee of divine protection, divine election and the divine covenant...of those who would ultimately enjoy the future redemption."

⁶⁸ Cohen, p. 13.

⁶⁹ Bird, p. 158. This marriage or partnership, according to Bird, addresses the question of equality and status. "The intended partnership implies a partnership of equals, characterized by mutuality of attraction, support and commitment. That the story is told from the point of view of the man and is thus clearly androcentric in construction, does not alter the basic tone of the account as a tone of mutuality and equality."

⁷⁰ Cohen, p. 14. Charles W. Penrose, Mormon Doctrine, Plain and Simple, (Salt Lake City: Juvenile Instructor Office, 1888), p. 49, "The first marriage recorded in scripture was the union of immortals. The curse of death had not been pronounced when the ceremony was solemnized. There was no sin then, and therefore there was no death. The man and woman became one as eternal beings, and dominion was given to them over all earthly things together."

⁷¹ It appears from the research done on this verse (Gen. 1:28, or Moses 2:28, "And God blessed them, and said unto them be fruitful...") that it is a benediction or blessing, and scriptural remnant of the divine ordinance of marriage. Thus it is a blessing and ordinance not only for this life but for eternity. What has been previously perceived as a command, in actuality, is a "blessing" with implied direction to have posterity in respect to the blessing. Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer, trans. Gerald Friedlander, (New York: Sepher-Hermon Press, 1981), pp. 88-89 also speaks of this wedding of Adam and Eve. Cohen, p. 109, states: "Gen. 1:28 brings this portrait of the primordial wedding feast to its climax...God and his angels extend themselves to the first parents in the ultimate expression of gratuitous kindness--ministering to their subordinants as bridesmaids and groomsmen. The ceremony does not conclude until God himself raises the cup of blessing and pronounces the nuptial benedictions" (Gen. 1:28). Harold B. Lee, in Roy Doxey, The Latter-day Prophets and the Doctrine and Covenants, (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book, 1965), vol. 4, pp.427, 428. states that "undoubtedly" Gen. 1:28 in conjunction with Gen. 2:18, 22-24; are the "vows of the first marriage upon this earth" Joseph Smith, in The Personal Writings of Joseph Smith, Compiled and Edited by Dean C. Jessee, (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1984), pp. 92, 132. The prophet remarks in a marriage ceremony that "marriage was an institution of heaven instituted in the Garden of Eden." Following the ceremony he pronounced them Husband and Wife and "in the name of God" blessed them with the "blessings that the Lord conferred upon Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden" in Gen. 1:28. See also page 132, where the blessings of "Abraham Isaac and Jacob" are given to the married couple. Also, Ezra Taft Benson, The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1988), pp. 534, 537.

⁷² Cohen, p. 207.

⁷³ Cohen, p. 309-310, also states that "God created the world expressly for the purpose of human procreation." see also Raphael Patai, Sex and Family in

the Bible and the Middle East (Garden City, N.Y., 1959), p. 72, where he states that the blessing of posterity occurs in Genesis "with an insistent and unrelenting monotony that could stem only from the conviction that numerous progeny is the highest of all human aspirations."

⁷⁴ Procreation, writes Cohen, p. 312, "exemplified not only human piety but also the mysterious and harmonious perfection of the deity; by complying with the divine mandate, a human couple replicated and effected the integration of the godhead, facilitating their own admission into the realm of the supernal as well." This "primordial blessing" of procreation is connected to our human condition and when "humans heed the instruction to be fertile and increase, they manifest their creation in the image of God. And when all those destined for human life have been born, the final redemption will ensue" (Cohen, p.242-243).

⁷⁵ In reference to the creation of Adam and Eve, Bird, pp. 158-159, states: "Sexual distinction cannot be limited to a biological definition of origin or function," that is within a pre-fall context. "Sexuality" (in mortality) "is a social endowment essential to community and to personal fulfillment, but as such is also subject to perversion and abuse."

⁷⁶ Jobling, p. 52, quotes Philo: "God made ready for him beforehand all things in the world." Jobling also uses the phrase "Anthropocentric teleology" which means that everything was prepared for human well being and use.

⁷⁷ Cohen, p. 17.

⁷⁸ Engnell, pp.112-113, states that this idea was anciently "symbolized cultically in the temple groves and the waters of life." Today, modern temples retain the similar symbols in the temple grounds or gardens, with fountains and reflecting pools.

⁷⁹ Brown, p. 174, Concerning the verse (Moses 2:28) Brown makes the comment that, "Only as we subdue the earth in the finest sense of that term, will we be entitled to inherit it...And so I'm suggesting that perhaps subduing the earth has something to do with inheriting the earth."

⁸⁰ Walter Brueggman, "Kingship and Chaos" in The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, (1971) vol. 33, p. 323.

⁸¹ Rowley, p. 68.

⁸² Jobling, p. 67. see also Cohen, pp. 1, 2.

⁸³ Cohen, pp. 85, 63-64. Jobling p. 50, states that the human "Possess far reaching power over nature, yet nothing like the total rule the text suggests." Only with the priesthood (the authority and power to act in God's name) does man obtain the power and control that "the text suggests."

⁸⁴ Midrash Tanhuma, 4:55b. See also Cohen, p. 101. Bird, p. 154, feels that "dominion" describes the relationship of Adam to the other creatures. "Its concern is order and status..its message of human superiority and sovereignty over the creatures appears independently in the creation hymn, Ps. 8."

⁸⁵ Cohen, p. 228.

⁸⁶ Smith, Teachings, p. 157.

⁸⁷ Bird, p. 154.

⁸⁸ Cohen, p. 23 states that the blessing of dominion "emphatically highlights the Godliness of the man and woman" and implies that those created in his image and blessed with fertility and dominion "betray a Near Eastern liturgical context by hinting at the royal investiture" and "enthronement of the first parents" (p. 45, 99). Man does not have unlimited power over creation for the "exercise of dominion ..rests conditionally upon human compliance with the divine will" (Cohen, pp. 16-17). Thus when this dominion is exercised unrighteously the blessing is rescinded by God, and man is left unto himself.

⁸⁹ David Clines, The Theme of the Pentateuch, JSOT Supplement Series 10 (1978) p. 29, "The promise has three elements: posterity, divine-human

relationship, and land." The divine-human relationship is the power and authority of God to act in his behalf as the one given the "dominion" and responsibility to bless all life.

⁹⁰ Jobling, p. 56 states that "such rule (dominion) in the world must be related to the supreme rule of God." Cohen, on p. 72-74 states the portrayal of dominion is an "administrative responsibility of management on behalf of a superior officer." Cohen explains, (p.119) that the dominion intended for humans corresponds to the "future rule of Israel over heavenly and earthly realms."

⁹¹ Jobling, p. 51.

⁹² Bird, p. 154. Also Cohen, p. 18 quotes Walter Z. Immerli stating that "human dominion must be exerted for the sake of a higher nonhuman objective." Dominion interpreted by Odil Hannes Steck is the "framework of rule for the benefit of the whole."

⁹³ Cohen, p. 70, states that God grants the first parents the divine like qualities, `creating them in his own image and according them dominion.'

⁹⁴ Cohen, p. 105.

⁹⁵ Bird, p. 158, makes the statement: "Here the consequence of sin, disturbs the "original intended relationship between God and creation" as well as the "original intended relationship between the man and the woman." Cohen, p. 246, implies that when the first parents rebelled they "undermined their own spiritual abilities." Pagels, in Adam, p. 142, states that the "spiritual death is a matter of choice" it is voluntary, therefore our actions become a factor in judgement.

⁹⁶ Cohen, p. 59.

⁹⁷ Cohen, p. 103, Because of the fall "Adam forfeited" the blessings that contributed to his natural order and the responsiveness of nature to provide his needs and desires. The man and woman are now subject to the power of the temporal environment in which they must be "driven."

⁹⁸ Midrashic traditions interpret the "punishments" of Gen. 3 bearing directly on the components of Gen. 1:28, the understood blessings of "bearing of children and the control of the natural environment" quoted in Cohen, p. 101, 63, 87.

⁹⁹ Cohen, p. 66. See also Pagels, Adam, p. 137, as she feels that the division of responsibilities are natural and necessary in this temporal world.

¹⁰⁰ Brown, p. 11, states "The Lord endowed you women with many gifts and graces, capacities and capabilities, of a quality that he did not grant to men, and these will strengthen the partnership, as they minister to and increase the intellectual and spiritual stamina of men...The Lord's special bequests and endowments to men and women separately can only be fully realized when they are combined, added upon, and enjoyed jointly. The gifts and graces of each must supplement and complement the other, if they are to be fully realized."

¹⁰¹ Childs, p. 192, states that the scripture witness "equality, even identity, in a unified role within the kingdom of God...Together in their unity they constitute true humanity."

¹⁰² Brown, p. 6, speaks of the relationship and dependency between a husband and wife:

"When we think of the respective roles of men and women, we remember the Lord said, `...Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man...' (I Cor.11:11). `So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them'--not him alone, `and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion...' (Gen. 1:27-28)."

"The dominion, then, is to be a joint dominion, and the command to multiply and replenish the earth is necessarily a joint injunction. When the Lord made provision (after the fall) for men to have the priesthood and gave the sacred honor and glory of motherhood to women, he divided not only the responsibilities but the blessings of life equally between men and women. Both priesthood and motherhood, if they are to be honored and magnified, must bear the hallmark of service--service sanctified and glorified by love. Hence, neither the man nor the woman should envy the role of the other, but recognize it as a counterpart and complement of their own role. We must go forward hand in hand and heart to heart as we face the challenging but glorious responsibilities of life."

¹⁰³ Childs, p. 192, states: "God chose to create two different forms of humanity for different functions within his creation." These differences allow the full development of the unified couple.

¹⁰⁴ Brown, p. 10-11, makes the statement that exaltation is a "joint and progressive undertaking."

¹⁰⁵ These same blessings of posterity, inheritance, and priesthood are the elements of the eternal world that Satan forever lost. He does not and never will have the power of pro-creation, the inheritance that could have been his is forever gone, and the dominion and power that belongs to the righteous, Satan may only, as Pharaoh did, `feign claim the rights of the priesthood' (Abraham 1:26).

¹⁰⁶ Pagels, Adam, p. 128, recognizes that the scriptures reveal that "only Christ's supernatural power can undo...what Adam's supernatural power once effected." Doxey, vol. 4, p. 427, Harold B. Lee states that the "purpose of the atonement was to restore that which was lost by the fall."

¹⁰⁷ Cohen, pp. 77, 111.

¹⁰⁸ Each existence that an individual enters into will require a new name. Scripture indicates that before the fall Adam's helpmate was called "woman" because she was taken out of man (Moses 3:23) after the fall she was called "Eve" because she became "the mother of all living" (Moses 4:26).

¹⁰⁹ B.D.B. pp. 780-781.

¹¹⁰ Pagels, Adam, p. 134, states that the transgression of Eve "brought suffering upon women as Adam's transgression "brought suffering upon men." Pagels remarks that when Adam sinned, "all nature was changed for the worse" which Augustine is quoted saying that every man experiences pain, frustration, and hardship in his labor, as every woman does in hers: the miseries of human nature now beset both sexes "from infancy to the grave."

¹¹¹ Norman Snaith, "Expository Times" Oct. 74, Vol. LXXXVI no. 1, p. 24.

¹¹² Cohen, p. 100, "God linked his grant of dominion (priesthood) in Gen. 1:28 to the good and obedient behavior of its human recipients." Any blessing from God has the restriction and implication that the blessing will only be meeted out because of the righteousness of the recipient. see also Cohen, p. 225, where he makes the statement that "Gen. 1:28 signifies election and the assurance of salvation," however, he continues "the conferral of whose rewards depends upon compliance with its demands."

¹¹³ Spencer W. Kimball, in Ensign, March. 1976, p. 72, states: "I have a question about the word rule. It gives the wrong impression. I would prefer to use the word preside because that's what he does. A righteous husband presides over his wife and family."

¹¹⁴ B.D.B. p. 1003.

¹¹⁵ It is this concept of eternal marriage and earthly priesthood responsibility that Paul had in mind as the told the saints in Ephesians 5:22-33:

"Wives, submit (support) yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. so ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church...For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery (ordinance)...Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband."

In view of the priesthood dominion and the division of responsibility after the fall, these passages of Paul are rendered more acceptable and understandable.

¹¹⁶ Paul in 1st Timothy 2:11-15 refers to the division of responsibility that took place at the time of the fall (i.e. priesthood, and posterity).

¹¹⁷ Joseph F. Smith, p. 290, states that the patriarchal order within the home is the "basis of all successful government in church or state." Continuing on this subject President Smith said "In selecting men to occupy responsible positions in the Church, it not infrequently happens that a useful and competent man is barred from consideration because of the want or fitness in the wife, and though a wife may not always bar a husband's opportunities, she may, nevertheless, prove a great hindrance to him in the discharge of the duties that belong to his office. If our sisters could only realize how helpful they might be to their husbands who hold responsible positions in the Church." This thought must be kept in mind to understand the Pauline teachings that women should be

`subordinate,' or `submissive' to the husbands rule. Paul is teaching from the framework of eternal marriage and the patriarchal order in a temporal existence. This doctrine is interpreted by Pagels in Gospels, p. 65 that "no woman shall be allowed to become a priest" to administer outside of the family unit.

¹¹⁸ Joseph F. Smith, p. 291, indicates that the power of this priesthood is to have "certain rights and authority within his family, comparable to those of the bishop with relation to the ward." Patriarchal leadership is the "privilege to stand as the head of his household, and to perform the ordinances pertaining to his family."

¹¹⁹ Cohen, p. 58, states that "the motif of dominion" which Cohen relates to the "conferral and or the abuse of power, is a prominent concern of scripture from the creation."

¹²⁰ This problem is recognized as "male domination" an issue and problem that Pagels, Adam, p. 133, acknowledges existed in early christian writings.

¹²¹ Childs, p. 194, states that in marriage, lies the "structuring of human life in the form of male and female with the potential of greatest joy or deepest grief."

¹²² Childs, p. 191-192. Childs states that the "judgment on the woman parallels that of the man for whose sake the ground is cursed."

¹²³ Death came about because of the partaking of the fruit which changed the physical makeup of the primordial man, this was a natural consequence of the consumption of the fruit. Spiritual death, or the separation from God occurs because of disobedience. The pain suffering, sorrow and even death are a product and blessing of this temporal world, and not a punishment for sin. Pagels, Adam, p. 137, 138-140, infers that what is understood as the sentence of death in Genesis 3:19 may not be a curse at all in a natural world but a blessing showing the mercy of God. The "sorrow" is to last "till thou return unto the ground" for `from the earth you were taken, and to the earth you must return.' This verse establishes a natural order for nature in a temporal world. Physical death merely offers us the necessary transition to immortality and eternal life, `so that this corruption can put on incorruption, and this mortal put on immortality' (I Cor. 15:53)."

¹²⁴ Cohen, p. 226, states that there are two reasons that man may have this dominion: "Either power proceeded from the divine image, which endowed humans with their distinctive rational and spiritual faculties...or humans might use their power to nurture their still unrealized likeness to the deity; or possibly both." The implication of this statement is that mankind has dominion (priesthood) given to him because he is the offspring of God, and with that priesthood mankind can become even more like God than they realize.

¹²⁵ Without an atonement all mankind "must unavoidably perish" (Alma 34:9). "Corruption could not put on incorruption." The reverse of the atonement is seen in 2 Ne. 9:7-9; and Alma 42:11-15.

¹²⁶ Cohen, p. 226.

¹²⁷ Joseph Smith stated: "the object of gathering the people of God in any age of the world. . . was to build unto the Lord a house whereby He could reveal unto His people the ordinances of His house and the glories of His kingdom, and teach the people the way of salvation; for there are certain ordinances and principles that, when they are taught and practiced, must be done in a place or house built for that purpose." T.P.J.S. pp. 307-8. Only in the Temple can the restoration of "that which was lost" or the "fullness of the priesthood" (D.&C 124:28) be received. Therein can "the keys of the holy priesthood" be given to mankind that they "may receive honor and glory" (D.&C. 124:34).

¹²⁸ Cohen, p. 229.

¹²⁹ Talmage, House of the Lord p. 79, "it is a precept of the Church that women of the Church share the authority of the Priesthood with their husbands,

actual or prospective; and therefore women, whether taking the endowment for themselves or for the dead, are not ordained to specific rank in the Priesthood...The married state is regarded as sacred, sanctified, and holy in all temple procedure; and within the House of the Lord the woman is the equal and the help-meet of the man."

¹³⁰ Pagels, Adam, p. 137, states that this division of dominion responsibilities between the husband and wife forms a "part of the order of nature" and are according to Julian (quoted in Pagels) "an institution of nature, not a punishment for sin." Pagels concludes that "male domination, like labor pain, while originating in God's `good' creation, may become, through sin, both painful and oppressive." Brevard Childs, p. 192, links the "ideology of a male dominated society" with the "mores of a fallen society."

¹³¹ Childs, p. 192.

¹³² Brown, p. 10-11, discuses the blessings of the temple and the married couple: "Jointly earned, the blessings will be equally shared. While the ordinances of the temple are distinctly of priesthood character, still worthy women have access to all of them. The highest blessing of the temple are conferred only upon man and wife together." Cohen, p. 80, states that "The jewish man without wife and children numbers among those banned from the heavenly congregation."

¹³³ Talmage, in The house of the Lord, p. 88, comments on this verse stating that "this system of holy matrimony, involving covenants for both time and eternity, is known distinctively as Celestial Marriage, and is understood to be the order of marriage that exists in the celestial worlds."

¹³⁴ McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 559. McConkie states that the "most important part of the patriarchal order is preserved for worthy members of the Church. Those married in the temple in the new and everlasting covenant of marriage become inheritors of all the blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the patriarchs and thereby enter into the patriarchal order. If the participating parties abide in the eternal marriage covenant, they shall reap the full blessings of patriarchal heirship in eternity where the patriarchal order will be the order of government and rule."

¹³⁵ Horowitz, p. 186, The notion of the "unity of man and woman as the image of God led the rabbis to consider men and women fully human and in God's Blessing when they were united as husband and wife." Talmage, in The House of the Lord, p. 79, discusses the concept of Temple Marriage: "In the privileges and blessings of that holy place, the utterance of Paul is regarded as

a scriptural decree in full force and effect: `Neither is the man without the woman...in the Lord.'"

¹³⁶ The blessings or "covenants of the fathers" are received in the ordinance temple marriage. President Benson makes the statement pertaining to this ordinance: "You will be ask to kneel at the altar opposite your companion. You will be given instructions, and a benediction will be pronounced upon you. Then you will be sealed together as husband and wife for time and all eternity. You are given the same promise that Adam, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob received...Temple marriage is a gospel ordinance for exaltation" (C.R. Apr. 79, 33). McConkie, Art. of Faith, pp. 312-313, states that those who participate in this ordinance become "heirs of the promises made to the fathers, the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

¹³⁷ Brown, p. 5, speaking to the Relief Society refers to this verse and states "I ask you please to note that the pronoun in this section is plural all the way through that `...they shall pass by the angels and the gods...to their exaltation and glory...'" Brown implies that the two, husband and wife will act as one entity in the ascension into the celestial worlds.

¹³⁸ Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels (New York: Random House, 1979), pp. 49-50. Discussing gnostic sources, Pagels states that one group of believers conceived God as a "divine Father and Mother." She continues that "other texts indicate that their authors" also believed in the exalted couple "since the Genesis account goes on to say that humanity was created `male and female.' This the author said, led to the conclusion "that the God in whose image we are made must also be both masculine and feminine-both Father and Mother...as part of an original couple." Pagels, states on p. 51, "Proponents of these divers views agreed that the divine is to be understood in terms of a harmonious, dynamic relationship of opposites" male and female.

¹³⁹ Pagels, Adam, p. 68, maintains that just as the creation of Adam was not complete until the introduction of Eve, so also perfection (exaltation) may only come as "Adam, reunited with Eve, becomes complete again."

¹⁴⁰ Joseph Smith, quoted in Cook, p. 247, that "the design of the Almighty in making man, was to exalt him to be as God." Exaltation like creation can only be "in his image and likeness." See also Phipps, p. 2-4, the word, Elohim is used in the Bible about 2,500 times to express God, and "the totality of Godness." It is a plural word with the plural "im" ending, and usually accompanied by a singular verb. "Elohim could have either a female or a male reverence" or both. "Both genders are incorporated in the divine name because the human sexes reflect the image of Elohim" and would be faithful to the Genesis account to consider both the male and female image in the term Elohim.

¹⁴¹ Spencer W. Kimball, Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, Ed. Edward L. Kimball. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982), p.25. Joseph F. Smith, p. 276, discusses this concept by stating:

"He made us in the beginning in his own image and in his own likeness, and he made us male and female. We never could be in the image of God if we were not both male and female...He has made us in his own form and likeness, and here we are male and female...When we become like him you will find that we will be presented before him in the form in which we were created, male and female. The woman will not go there alone, and the man will not go there alone, and claim exaltation. They may attain a degree of salvation alone, but when they are exalted they will be exalted according to the law o the celestial kingdom."

Horowitz, p. 185, considers that the "notion of the combined Adam" or the whole man was corresponding to the idea that the "God in whose image Adam was formed, has both a male and female dimension." Phipps, p. 2, states: "Thus Elohim designates the essence of individual male and female deities who had been incorporated into a single divine person." This concept was according to Pagels, Gospels, p.57, 59, common in the church "probably as late as the year 200" when virtually "all the feminine imagery for God had disappeared from orthodox Christian tradition."

¹⁴² See Horowitz, p. 187, where he states that the sages observed: `a man without a wife lives without blessing, without life, without joy, without a helpmate, in want of all that is good and without peace without a blessing for it says "God blessed them" only when they were a pair (Midrash Ps. 59).'

¹⁴³ If these statements are true then deity must consist of two persons, the exalted man and exalted woman. Thus the two are God. Alone, male or female, may not inherit the highest degree of the Celestial Kingdom. To become God then requires an equal help mate and companion to function in the office of God. McConkie, in Mormon Doctrine, p. 844, states that man "cannot attain a fullness of joy here or of eternal reward here-after alone. Woman stands at his side a joint-inheritor with him in the fullness of all things. Exaltation and eternal increase is her lot as well as his. Godhood is not for men only; it is for men and women together." The term "Elohim" is a plural word, most often used in a singular context. Perhaps inherent in the word "Elohim" is that which

requires God to be God, male and female. The quest for "Mother in Heaven" need no longer be pursued because reference to God, Elohim, or Father in Heaven would have to include the exalted couple. `Neither is the man without the woman, or the woman without the man' defined as God. See also McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, pp. 516-517, "Mother in Heaven".

¹⁴⁴ Rabbi Berachiah said in Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer, p. 229. that He (God) would bless him (Abraham) "in this world and in the world to come, as it is said, `By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, because thou hast done this thing'; and it says `That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed, as the stars of the Heaven;' `That in blessings' refers to this world; `I will bless thee,' in the world to come; and `I will greatly multiply thy seed' in the future that is to come."

¹⁴⁵ Paradise, as Pagels describes in Adam, p. 133, would be a `condition in which childbearing is painless, and marriage can exist without oppression or coercion.' This is the perfect and painless equality of exaltation.

¹⁴⁶ Cohen pp. 207-208, writes: "On an individual level, too, a man's spiritual destiny depends on his procreative record." His divine inheritance is dependent on the use of the primal blessing "which is the secret of the world above."

¹⁴⁷ McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 13, "All of these promises" (priesthood , posterity and inheritance) "lumped together are called the Abrahamic covenant, this covenant was renewed with Isaac and again with Jacob. Those portions of it which pertain to personal exaltation and eternal increase are renewed with each member of the House of Israel who enters the order of celestial marriage; through that order the participating parties become inheritors of all blessings of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."