Moses 5 — JST
59 verses • Pearl of Great Price, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Preamble
Summary
Moses 5 massively expands Genesis 4. It begins with Adam and Eve's post-Eden life, introduces the gospel being preached to them by angels, their baptism and reception of the Holy Ghost, and then narrates the Cain and Abel story with extensive additions about secret combinations, Satan's oaths, and the spread of wickedness. The chapter covers material from Genesis 4:1 through approximately Genesis 4:26.
What Is Remarkable
Smith's most dramatic expansions appear here. Adam and Eve receive the full gospel plan after the Fall: an angel teaches them about the Only Begotten (5:6-9), Adam is baptized, receives the Holy Ghost, and prophesies (5:9-12). Eve declares the Fall was beneficial: 'Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed' (5:11). Cain's covenant with Satan is detailed as a formal oath and secret combination (5:29-31). The chapter introduces Lamech's oath and Master Mahan (5:49-52).
Points of Friction
Genesis 4 contains no gospel preaching, no baptism, no Holy Ghost, and no angelic instruction for Adam and Eve. The Cain narrative in Genesis 4 is spare; Smith expands it into a detailed conspiracy account with formal oaths and secret societies. 'Master Mahan' appears nowhere in any biblical text. Eve's positive assessment of the Fall contradicts traditional Christian readings of the Fall as purely tragic.
Connections
Eve's declaration (5:11) connects to 2 Nephi 2:22-25. The secret combination motif is developed extensively in the Book of Mormon (Ether 8, Helaman 6). Adam's baptism connects to D&C 20:25-26. The sacrificial ordinance prefigures the Mosaic system and ultimately Christ's atonement.
And it came to pass that after I, the Lord God, had driven them out, that Adam began to till the earth, and to have dominion over all the beasts of the field, and to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow, as I the Lord had commanded him. And Eve, also, his wife, did labor with him.
No direct Genesis parallel for this transitional verse. It bridges the expulsion (Moses 4) to post-Eden life, emphasizing obedience to the cursed-ground decree.
And Adam knew his wife, and she bare unto him sons and daughters, and they began to multiply and to replenish the earth.
Condensed and generalized from Gen 4:1-2. Mentions unnamed 'sons and daughters' before Cain and Abel.
And from that time forth, the sons and daughters of Adam began to divide two and two in the land, and to till the land, and to tend flocks, and they also begat sons and daughters.
No Genesis parallel. Provides a social backdrop: the human population is growing and pairing off before the Cain and Abel narrative.
And Adam and Eve, his wife, called upon the name of the Lord, and they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the Garden of Eden, speaking unto them, and they saw him not; for they were shut out from his presence.
No Genesis parallel. Adam and Eve pray and hear God's voice from the direction of Eden but cannot see him — a diminished theophany reflecting their fallen state.
And he gave unto them commandments, that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks, for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandments of the Lord.
No Genesis parallel. God commands animal sacrifice. Adam's obedience is emphasized — he obeys without yet understanding why.
And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying: Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.
No Genesis parallel. An angel interrogates Adam's motive. Adam's answer — obedience without understanding — is presented positively as faith.
And then the angel spake, saying: This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.
The angel reveals the christological meaning of animal sacrifice: it is a 'similitude' (type/shadow) of Christ's atonement. This retrojects New Testament soteriology into the patriarchal period.
Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore.
The angel prescribes a christocentric life: everything done 'in the name of the Son.' Repentance is introduced as a principle from the very beginning.
And in that day the Holy Ghost fell upon Adam, which beareth record of the Father and the Son, saying: I am the Only Begotten of the Father from the beginning, henceforth and forever, that as thou hast fallen thou mayest be redeemed, and all mankind, even as many as will.
The Holy Ghost falls on Adam and delivers a christological declaration. Redemption is offered to 'as many as will' — preserving agency. The Fall is presented as the necessary precondition for redemption.
And in that day Adam blessed God and was filled, and began to prophesy concerning all the families of the earth, saying: Blessed be the name of God, for because of my transgression my eyes are opened, and in this life I shall have joy, and again in the flesh I shall see God.
Adam's response: he blesses God for the Fall. 'Because of my transgression my eyes are opened' — the Fall is beneficial. 'Again in the flesh I shall see God' — a resurrection prophecy.
And Eve, his wife, heard all these things and was glad, saying: Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient.
Eve's declaration is theologically momentous: the Fall was necessary for procreation, moral knowledge, redemptive joy, and eternal life. This is the 'fortunate fall' (felix culpa) stated in the strongest possible terms. Cf. 2 Nephi 2:25.
And Adam and Eve blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters.
The gospel is transmitted to the next generation through parental teaching — a domestic mission.
And Satan came among them, saying: I am also a son of God; and he commanded them, saying: Believe it not; and they believed it not, and they loved Satan more than God. And men began from that time forth to be carnal, sensual, and devilish.
Satan's counter-mission: he claims divine sonship and commands disbelief. Some of Adam's children accept Satan's message. 'Carnal, sensual, and devilish' becomes a recurring phrase in LDS scripture (cf. Mosiah 16:3).
And the Lord God called upon men by the Holy Ghost everywhere and commanded them that they should repent;
God's universal call to repentance through the Holy Ghost — not limited to one family or location.
And as many as believed in the Son, and repented of their sins, should be saved; and as many as believed not and repented not, should be damned; and the words went forth out of the mouth of God in a firm decree; wherefore they must be fulfilled.
A binary soteriological decree: belief and repentance lead to salvation; unbelief and impenitence to damnation. The irreversibility of God's word echoes Moses 4:30.
And Adam and Eve, his wife, ceased not to call upon God. And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bare Cain, and said: I have gotten a man from the Lord; wherefore he may not reject his words. But behold, Cain hearkened not, saying: Who is the Lord that I should know him?
Eve's hope that Cain will not reject God is immediately dashed. Cain's question 'Who is the Lord?' echoes Pharaoh's defiance (Exodus 5:2).
And she again conceived and bare his brother Abel. And Abel hearkened unto the voice of the Lord. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
Adds 'Abel hearkened unto the voice of the Lord' — establishing Abel's righteousness before the offering narrative.
And Cain loved Satan more than God. And Satan commanded him, saying: Make an offering unto the Lord.
No Genesis parallel. Cain's offering is commanded by Satan, not prompted by devotion — reframing the entire sacrifice episode.
And in process of time it came to pass that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord.
Follows Gen 4:3. The offering is from the ground, not from the flock — noncompliant with the firstlings command of v. 5.
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering;
Follows Gen 4:4. Abel's offering is accepted because it complies with the divinely commanded sacrifice pattern.
But unto Cain, and to his offering, he had not respect. Now Satan knew this, and it pleased him. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
Adds 'Satan knew this, and it pleased him' — Satan orchestrated the rejection to provoke Cain's anger.
And the Lord said unto Cain: Why art thou wroth? Why is thy countenance fallen?
Follows Gen 4:6.
If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted. And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his desire. And thou shalt rule over him;
Significantly expanded. 'Satan desireth to have thee' makes the spiritual warfare explicit. God warns that disobedience results in being delivered to Satan. 'Thou shalt rule over him' — Cain retains the capacity to resist.
For from this time forth thou shalt be the father of his lies; thou shalt be called Perdition; for thou wast also before the world.
No Genesis parallel. Cain is designated 'Perdition' and 'father of his lies' — sharing Satan's title. 'Thou wast also before the world' suggests Cain's pre-mortal rebellion.
And it shall be said in time to come — That these abominations were had from Cain; for he rejected the greater counsel which was had from God; and this is a cursing which I will put upon thee, except thou repent.
Source Text
And it shall be said in time to come—That these abominations were had from Cain; for he rejected the greater counsel which was had from God; and this is a cursing which I will put upon thee, except thou repent.
Cain is given a final chance to repent. His abominations will become proverbial. The 'greater counsel' is the gospel plan he has already heard.
And Cain was wroth, and listened not any more to the voice of the Lord, neither to Abel, his brother, who walked in holiness before the Lord.
Cain definitively rejects both God and Abel. Abel is characterized as walking 'in holiness.'
And Adam and his wife mourned before the Lord, because of Cain and his brethren.
No Genesis parallel. Parental grief over children's apostasy — a humanizing detail absent from Genesis.
And it came to pass that Cain took one of his brothers' daughters to wife, and they loved Satan more than God.
Cain marries and the couple are united in loyalty to Satan rather than God.
And Satan said unto Cain: Swear unto me by thy throat, and if thou tell it thou shalt die; and swear thy brethren by their heads, and by the living God, that they tell it not; for if they tell it, they shall surely die; and this that thy father may not know it; and this day I will deliver thy brother Abel into thine hands.
No Genesis parallel. Satan initiates a formal secret oath — a blood covenant of secrecy. The oath structure (by throat, by heads, by the living God) parodies sacred oaths. Satan promises to deliver Abel to Cain.
And Satan sware unto Cain that he would do according to his commands. And all these things were done in secret.
A reciprocal oath: Satan swears to Cain. Secrecy is the hallmark of what the Book of Mormon calls 'secret combinations.'
And Cain said: Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder and get gain. Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan, and he gloried in his wickedness.
No Genesis parallel. 'Master Mahan' — a title meaning master of the great secret (murder for gain). This becomes a recurring concept in LDS scripture. Cain's motive is explicitly economic: 'murder and get gain.'
And Cain went into the field, and Cain talked with Abel, his brother. And it came to pass that while they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel, his brother, and slew him.
Follows Gen 4:8. The murder is now contextualized by the oath and conspiracy of the preceding verses.
And Cain gloried in that which he had done, saying: I am free; surely the flocks of my brother falleth into my hands.
No Genesis parallel. Cain celebrates — 'I am free' suggests he believes he has escaped divine oversight. His motive is confirmed: Abel's flocks.
And the Lord said unto Cain: Where is Abel, thy brother? And he said: I know not. Am I my brother's keeper?
Follows Gen 4:9. The famous evasion. After vv. 29-33, the reader knows Cain is lying.
And the Lord said: What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood cries unto me from the ground.
Follows Gen 4:10. The blood crying from the ground is one of the most powerful images in scripture.
And now thou shalt be cursed from the earth which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand.
Follows Gen 4:11. The earth is personified as receiving Abel's blood.
When thou tillest the ground it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength. A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.
Follows Gen 4:12. The ground that received Abel's blood will no longer yield for Cain.
And Cain said unto the Lord: Satan tempted me because of my brother's flocks. And I was wroth also; for his offering thou didst accept and not mine; my punishment is greater than I can bear.
Smith expands Cain's complaint. He blames Satan and God's rejection of his offering. 'My punishment is greater than I can bear' is retained from Gen 4:13.
Behold thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the Lord, and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that he that findeth me will slay me, because of mine iniquities, for these things are not hid from the Lord.
'From the face of the Lord' replaces 'from the face of the earth' — the exile is spiritual. Adds 'because of mine iniquities, for these things are not hid from the Lord.'
And I the Lord said unto him: Whosoever slayeth thee, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And I the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.
Follows Gen 4:15. The mark of Cain is protective, not punitive — it prevents others from killing him.
And Cain was shut out from the presence of the Lord, and with his wife and many of his brethren dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
'Was shut out' (passive, divine act) replaces 'went out' (active, Cain's choice). Adds 'with his wife and many of his brethren' — a group departure.
And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bare Enoch, and he also begat many sons and daughters. And he builded a city, and he called the name of the city after the name of his son, Enoch.
Follows Gen 4:17. This is a different Enoch from the righteous Enoch of Moses 6-7 (that Enoch descends from Seth).
And unto Enoch was born Irad, and other sons and daughters. And Irad begat Mehujael, and other sons and daughters. And Mehujael begat Methusael, and other sons and daughters. And Methusael begat Lamech.
Follows Gen 4:18, adding 'and other sons and daughters' at each generation.
And Lamech took unto himself two wives; the name of one being Adah, and the name of the other, Zillah.
Follows Gen 4:19. The first recorded polygamy in scripture.
And Adah bare Jabal; he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and they were keepers of cattle; and his brother's name was Jubal, who was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ.
Combines Gen 4:20-21 into one verse. Origins of pastoral and musical culture.
And Zillah, she also bare Tubal Cain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron. And the sister of Tubal Cain was called Naamah.
Follows Gen 4:22. Origin of metalworking.
And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah: Hear my voice, ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech; for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
Follows Gen 4:23. Lamech's boast about killing a man. The meaning is debated — self-defense or murder.
If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech shall be seventy and seven fold;
Follows Gen 4:24. Lamech claims even greater divine protection than Cain.
For Lamech having entered into a covenant with Satan, after the manner of Cain, wherein he became Master Mahan, master of that great secret which was administered unto Cain by Satan; and Irad, the son of Enoch, having known their secret, began to reveal it unto the sons of Adam;
No Genesis parallel. Lamech inherits the 'Master Mahan' title and oath from Cain. Irad threatens to expose the secret — the first whistleblower in scripture.
Wherefore Lamech, being angry, slew him, not like unto Cain, his brother Abel, for the sake of getting gain, but he slew him for the oath's sake.
Lamech kills Irad to protect the secret oath — a different motive than Cain's (gain). The secret combination enforces itself through murder.
For, from the days of Cain, there was a secret combination, and their works were in the dark, and they knew every man his brother.
No Genesis parallel. The 'secret combination' is a formal institution dating from Cain. 'They knew every man his brother' indicates mutual recognition among members.
Wherefore the Lord cursed Lamech, and his house, and all them that had covenanted with Satan; for they kept not the commandments of God, and it displeased God, and he ministered not unto them, and their works were abominations, and began to spread among all the sons of men. And it was among the sons of men.
God curses the entire satanic covenant network. The abominations 'spread' — secret combinations are contagious. God withdraws his ministry from them.
And among the daughters of men these things were not spoken, because that Lamech had spoken the secret unto his wives, and they rebelled against him, and declared these things abroad, and had not compassion;
Lamech's wives break the secret and 'declared these things abroad' — women expose the conspiracy. 'Had not compassion' may mean they showed no mercy to Lamech.
Wherefore Lamech was despised, and cast out, and came not among the sons of men, lest he should die.
Lamech becomes an outcast — the secret combination's collapse when exposed.
And thus the works of darkness began to prevail among all the sons of men.
Despite the exposure, darkness prevails. The pattern repeats throughout LDS scripture.
And God cursed the earth with a sore curse, and was angry with the wicked, with all the sons of men whom he had made;
Divine anger at the spread of wickedness. The 'sore curse' intensifies beyond the original ground-curse of Moses 4.
For they would not hearken unto his voice, nor believe on his Only Begotten Son, even him whom he declared should come in the meridian of time, who was prepared from before the foundation of the world.
The rejection is specifically of the Only Begotten. 'Meridian of time' — a phrase unique to LDS scripture, placing Christ's mortal ministry at the midpoint of temporal history.
And thus the Gospel began to be preached, from the beginning, being declared by holy angels sent forth from the presence of God, and by his own voice, and by the gift of the Holy Ghost.
A programmatic statement: the gospel was preached from the very beginning of human history, through three channels — angels, God's voice, and the Holy Ghost. This contradicts the traditional view that the gospel was unknown before Christ.
And thus all things were confirmed unto Adam, by an holy ordinance, and the Gospel preached, and a decree sent forth, that it should be in the world, until the end thereof; and thus it was. Amen.
The chapter concludes with Adam's confirmation through 'an holy ordinance' — likely baptism (cf. v. 9). The gospel decree is perpetual: 'until the end thereof.' The 'Amen' closes this section of the revelation.