Moses 4 — JST
32 verses • Pearl of Great Price, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Preamble
Summary
Moses 4 parallels Genesis 3, presenting the Fall of Adam and Eve. Smith's major additions identify Satan's pre-mortal rebellion as the backdrop to the temptation, making the serpent explicitly Satan rather than merely a crafty animal. The Fall narrative itself closely follows Genesis 3 but is framed as God's narration to Moses.
What Is Remarkable
Smith prefixes the Genesis 3 narrative with Satan's backstory (4:1-4): Satan offered to redeem all mankind with no agency, was rejected in favor of the Only Begotten, rebelled, and was cast down. This pre-mortal council scene recontextualizes the serpent's temptation as cosmic warfare. The Fall itself is presented within LDS theology as a necessary step rather than pure tragedy — anticipated by the 'thou mayest choose for thyself' of Moses 3:17.
Points of Friction
Genesis 3 contains no pre-mortal council, no identification of the serpent as Satan (that development occurs later in Jewish and Christian tradition, e.g., Rev 12:9), and no theology of agency. Smith's additions transform the narrative from a simple Fall story into a cosmic drama of competing plans for human salvation.
Connections
The pre-mortal council connects to Abraham 3:22-28 and D&C 29:36-38. The serpent-as-Satan identification aligns with Revelation 12:9 and Isaiah 14:12-15. The Fall narrative is discussed in 2 Nephi 2:22-25 ('Adam fell that men might be').
And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying — Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.
Source Text
And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.
No Genesis parallel. Satan's pre-mortal proposal: universal salvation with no loss, in exchange for God's honor. This eliminates agency and exalts Satan — both disqualifying. References Moses' earlier command to Satan in Moses 1.
But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me — Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.
Source Text
But, behold, my Beloved Son, which was my Beloved and Chosen from the beginning, said unto me—Father, thy will be done, and the glory be thine forever.
The Son's counter-proposal: submission to the Father's will, with glory returned to God. The contrast is between Satan's demand for honor and the Son's deference. Cf. John 6:38.
Wherefore, because that Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man, which I, the Lord God, had given him, and also, that I should give unto him mine own power; by the power of mine Only Begotten, I caused that he should be cast down;
Satan's twin sins: destroying human agency and seeking God's power. Agency is presented as a divine gift that even God will not override. Satan is cast down through the Only Begotten's power.
And he became Satan, yea, even the devil, the father of all lies, to deceive and to blind men, and to lead them captive at his will, even as many as would not hearken unto my voice.
Satan's transformation is complete: he 'became' the devil. 'Father of all lies' echoes John 8:44. His power is limited to those who will not hear God's voice.
And now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which I, the Lord God, had made.
Follows Gen 3:1a. The transition from the pre-mortal council (vv. 1-4) to the garden narrative makes the serpent's identity as Satan's instrument implicit.
And Satan put it into the heart of the serpent, (for he had drawn away many after him,) and he sought also to beguile Eve, for he knew not the mind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world.
No Genesis parallel. Smith makes explicit what Genesis leaves implicit: Satan operates through the serpent. The parenthetical 'he had drawn away many' connects to the pre-mortal rebellion. Satan's ignorance of God's plan is emphasized.
And he said unto the woman: Yea, hath God said — Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (And he spake by the mouth of the serpent.)
Source Text
And he said unto the woman: Yea, hath God said—Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (And he spake by the mouth of the serpent.)
Follows Gen 3:1b, with the parenthetical clarification that Satan speaks 'by the mouth of the serpent.'
And the woman said unto the serpent: We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden;
Follows Gen 3:2.
But of the fruit of the tree which thou beholdest in the midst of the garden, God hath said — Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Source Text
But of the fruit of the tree which thou beholdest in the midst of the garden, God hath said—Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Follows Gen 3:3. 'Which thou beholdest' replaces 'which is' — Eve gestures toward a visible tree.
And the serpent said unto the woman: Ye shall not surely die;
Identical to Gen 3:4. The first lie in scripture.
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Identical to Gen 3:5. The promise of divine knowledge.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it became pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make her wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and also gave unto her husband with her, and he did eat.
Closely follows Gen 3:6. 'It became pleasant' (vs. 'it was pleasant') may suggest a change in perception. 'Make her wise' personalizes from 'make one wise.'
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they had been naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.
'They had been naked' (past perfect) vs. 'they were naked' — subtle tense shift suggesting a new awareness of a preexisting condition.
And they heard the voice of the Lord God, as they were walking in the garden, in the cool of the day; and Adam and his wife went to hide themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
'As they were walking' clarifies that Adam and Eve were walking, not God — resolving the KJV ambiguity about divine anthropomorphism.
And I, the Lord God, called unto Adam, and said unto him: Where goest thou?
'Where goest thou?' replaces 'Where art thou?' — shifting from a question of location to one of direction/intent.
And he said: I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I beheld that I was naked, and I hid myself.
'I beheld that I was naked' replaces 'I was naked' — the emphasis is on recognition/awareness.
And I, the Lord God, said unto Adam: Who told thee thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat, if so thou shouldst surely die?
Adds 'if so thou shouldst surely die' — restating the original consequence.
And the man said: The woman thou gavest me, and commandest that she should remain with me, she gave me of the fruit of the tree and I did eat.
'Commandest that she should remain with me' replaces 'whom thou gavest to be with me' — Adam invokes a divine command that Eve stay with him.
And I, the Lord God, said unto the woman: What is this thing which thou hast done? And the woman said: The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
Follows Gen 3:13 closely.
And I, the Lord God, said unto the serpent: Because thou hast done this thou shalt be cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life;
Follows Gen 3:14, first-person framing.
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed; and he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
The protoevangelium. Smith changes 'it' to 'he' — making the messianic reading explicit. The seed of the woman who bruises the serpent's head is a person, not a thing.
Unto the woman, I, the Lord God, said: I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Follows Gen 3:16, first-person framing.
And unto Adam, I, the Lord God, said: Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the fruit of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying — Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed shall be the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.
Source Text
And unto Adam, I, the Lord God, said: Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the fruit of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying—Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed shall be the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life.
Follows Gen 3:17, first-person framing. 'Cursed shall be' (future) vs. 'cursed is' (present) in KJV.
Thorns also, and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.
Identical to Gen 3:18.
By the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until thou shalt return unto the ground — for thou shalt surely die — for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou wast, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Source Text
By the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until thou shalt return unto the ground—for thou shalt surely die—for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou wast, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Adds the parenthetical 'for thou shalt surely die' — restating the original warning of Moses 3:17. 'Dust thou wast' (past) vs. 'dust thou art' (present).
And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living; for thus have I, the Lord God, called the first of all women, which are many.
Adds 'for thus have I, the Lord God, called the first of all women, which are many.' The phrase 'which are many' echoes Moses 1:34 ('Adam, which is many') — suggesting Eve, like Adam, is a typological figure across worlds.
Unto Adam, and also unto his wife, did I, the Lord God, make coats of skins, and clothed them.
Follows Gen 3:21. God's provision of clothing implies the first animal death.
And I, the Lord God, said unto mine Only Begotten: Behold, the man is become as one of us to know good and evil; and now lest he put forth his hand and partake also of the tree of life, and eat and live forever,
Smith adds 'unto mine Only Begotten' — as with Moses 2:26, the 'us' is resolved as Father and Son.
Therefore I, the Lord God, will send him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken;
'Will send' (future intent) vs. 'sent' (past) in KJV — the narration is still God speaking to Moses about what he will do.
For as I, the Lord God, liveth, even so my words cannot return void, for as they go forth out of my mouth they must be fulfilled.
No Genesis parallel. An oath formula ('as I liveth') affirming that God's word must be fulfilled. Echoes Isaiah 55:11 ('my word shall not return unto me void').
So I drove out the man, and I placed at the east of the Garden of Eden, cherubim and a flaming sword, which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life.
Follows Gen 3:24, first-person. 'Cherubim' corrects to the proper Hebrew plural (KJV 'Cherubims' adds an English plural to a Hebrew plural).
(And these are the words which I spake unto my servant Moses, and they are true even as I will; and I have spoken them unto you. See thou show them unto no man, until I command you, except to them that believe. Amen.)
No Genesis parallel. A closing editorial parenthetical echoing Moses 1:42. The restriction 'show them unto no man ... except to them that believe' frames the text as sacred and restricted.