Come, Follow Me · Week 3 · January 12–18

Genesis 1–2; Moses 2–3; Abraham 4–5

This Week's Reading

This week’s reading from Genesis, Moses, and Abraham presents a majestic account of creation, revealing that God is the Creator who formed the heavens and the earth by His own power and word. The scriptures teach that Jesus Christ is central to this work, as He is the Only Begotten through whom all things were created Moses 2:1. These passages also describe the formation of man and woman, establishing the divine order of marriage and the sacred purpose of family life. By studying these texts, we learn that God designed a perfect world where humanity could live in harmony with Him and one another.

Key Passages

Genesis 1:1–10: This passage declares that God created the heavens and the earth by His word, bringing light out of darkness and separating the waters to form the world we know.
Moses 2:1–7: Here, the Lord speaks directly to Moses, affirming that He is the Beginning and the End who created all things through His Only Begotten Son.
Abraham 4:9–10 and Abraham 5:1–10: These verses show the Gods working together in council to finish their work of creation and resting on the seventh day, sanctifying it as holy.
Genesis 2:15–24: This section details how God placed man in the garden to keep it, created woman from Adam's rib, and established the eternal bond of marriage so they may become one flesh.

Questions to Ponder

How does reading the creation accounts in Genesis, Moses, and Abraham change your view of who God is?
What do these scriptures teach about the power of God’s word versus human effort in bringing things into existence?
Why is it significant that God rested on the seventh day after creating the world?
How does the creation of woman from Adam's rib illustrate the sacred and inseparable nature of marriage?

A Thought to Take Home

These ancient records remind us that we are not accidental products of chance, but beloved children intentionally created by a loving Father who knows our names. The divine order established in Eden points us toward eternal truths about family, purpose, and the plan of happiness that centers on Jesus Christ. As you study these words, may you feel closer to the Creator and find comfort in knowing that He designed everything for your good.

Further study

Genesis 1:1–10 Moses 2:1–7 Abraham 4:9–10 Abraham 5:1–10

Teaching this week?

Get a complete lesson plan for adults, youth, Primary or your family: opening, discussion questions, activity and a testimony prompt, ready to print.

Prepare my lesson

This guide was prepared with AI from the scriptures and checked against the text; it can still make mistakes. For the Church's own guidance, read the official Come, Follow Me manual for this week. Nephite Atlas is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Key passages

Genesis 1:1–10

¹In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. ²And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. ³And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. ⁴And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. ⁵And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. ⁶And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. ⁷And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. ⁸And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. ⁹And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. ¹⁰And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

Moses 2:1–7

¹And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I reveal unto you concerning this heaven, and this earth; write the words which I speak. I am the Beginning and the End, the Almighty God; by mine Only Begotten I created these things; yea, in the beginning I created the heaven, and the earth upon which thou standest. ²And the earth was without form, and void; and I caused darkness to come up upon the face of the deep; and my Spirit moved upon the face of the water; for I am God. ³And I, God, said: Let there be light; and there was light. ⁴And I, God, saw the light; and that light was good. And I, God, divided the light from the darkness. ⁵And I, God, called the light Day; and the darkness, I called Night; and this I did by the word of my power, and it was done as I spake; and the evening and the morning were the first day. ⁶And again, I, God, said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and it was so, even as I spake; and I said: Let it divide the waters from the waters; and it was done; ⁷And I, God, made the firmament and divided the waters, yea, the great waters under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament, and it was so even as I spake.

Abraham 4:9–10

⁹And the Gods ordered, saying: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the earth come up dry; and it was so as they ordered; ¹⁰And the Gods pronounced the dry land, Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, pronounced they, Great Waters; and the Gods saw that they were obeyed.

Abraham 5:1–10

¹And thus we will finish the heavens and the earth, and all the hosts of them. ²And the Gods said among themselves: On the seventh time we will end our work, which we have counseled; and we will rest on the seventh time from all our work which we have counseled. ³And the Gods concluded upon the seventh time, because that on the seventh time they would rest from all their works which they (the Gods) counseled among themselves to form; and sanctified it. And thus were their decisions at the time that they counseled among themselves to form the heavens and the earth. ⁴And the Gods came down and formed these the generations of the heavens and of the earth, when they were formed in the day that the Gods formed the earth and the heavens, ⁵According to all that which they had said concerning every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew; for the Gods had not caused it to rain upon the earth when they counseled to do them, and had not formed a man to till the ground. ⁶But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. ⁷And the Gods formed man from the dust of the ground, and took his spirit (that is, the man's spirit), and put it into him; and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. ⁸And the Gods planted a garden, eastward in Eden, and there they put the man, whose spirit they had put into the body which they had formed. ⁹And out of the ground made the Gods to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food; the tree of life, also, in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. ¹⁰There was a river running out of Eden, to water the garden, and from thence it was parted and became into four heads.

Genesis 2:15–24

¹⁵And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. ¹⁶And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: ¹⁷But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. ¹⁸And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. ¹⁹And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. ²⁰And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. ²¹And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; ²²And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. ²³And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. ²⁴Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.