Moses 1

Moses on the Mountain

Moses sees God face to face, is tested by Satan, is shown worlds without number, and is told the Lord’s work and glory.

Last revised October 6, 2026

Moses chaptersChapter 1 of 8

Moses 1 happened between the burning bush and the Exodus; it was revealed to Joseph Smith in June 1830. Read with footnotes in Gospel Library

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Background

The Book of Moses is “an extract from the book of Genesis of Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible, which he began in June 1830.”

The Book of Moses is “an extract from the book of Genesis of Joseph Smith’s translation of the Bible, which he began in June 1830.” The Joseph Smith Translation was begun shortly after the Book of Mormon was published, and the book of Moses is part of it. Moses 1 is unlike the rest: it “is completely unique material, with no counterpart in the Bible.” The manuscript heading, in Oliver Cowdery’s hand, calls it “a revelation given to Joseph the Revelator June 1830,” and it came amid “physical persecutions directed at him and spiritual trials for the infant church.”

Inside the text, the setting is a mountain Moses is “caught up into” (Moses 1:1), the name of which “shall not be known among the children of men” (Moses 1:42). Moses has already met the Lord at the burning bush (Moses 1:17) and has not yet delivered Israel (Moses 1:26). Verses 40–41 tell Moses to write what the Lord will say. The chapters that follow (Moses 2 onward) are that writing, and the Lord says that when the words of his book are esteemed as naught and taken from it, another will be raised up to restore them.

So the chapter is a preface in two senses. It prepares Moses for his work, and it tells the reader whose words the book contains, why they were written, and what they are for.

The thread through the chapter

The chapter moves from seeing to testing to meaning. Moses is first shown who God is and who he himself is: a son, in the similitude of the Only Begotten, who also learns that…

The chapter moves from seeing to testing to meaning. Moses is first shown who God is and who he himself is: a son, in the similitude of the Only Begotten, who also learns that “man is nothing.” Then Satan comes, asking for worship, and Moses answers by what he has just seen: glory is the difference. Satan even claims the Savior’s title, and he departs when Moses commands him in that Son’s name. Then, with Satan gone, Moses is shown the earth, the worlds, and the Lord’s purpose in them, and the Lord states it plainly: “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” The Only Begotten is named in verses 6, 13, 16, 17, 19, 21, 32, and 33, and the chapter is about Him as much as it is about Moses.

Tap any highlighted phrase to open a note beneath its versein the margin.

Verses 1–11

God speaks with Moses face to face

In plain words

Moses is caught up into a very high mountain. He sees God face to face and talks with him, and God’s glory is on Moses so that he can bear it. God says: “I am the Lord God Almighty, Endless is my name, without beginning of days or end of years. You are my son. I will show you the work of my hands, but not all of it, for my works and words have no end. No man can see all my works unless he sees all my glory, and no man can see all my glory and stay in the flesh. I have a work for you, Moses, my son. You are in the likeness of my Only Begotten, who is and will be the Savior. There is no God beside me, and I know all things.” Moses sees the world and everyone in it, and marvels. Then God’s presence withdraws. Moses falls to the earth and, for many hours, cannot recover his strength. He says that now he knows man is nothing, which he never supposed, and that he has seen God with his spiritual eyes, since his natural eyes would have withered.

1 The words of God, which he spake unto Moses at a time when Moses was caught up into an exceedingly high mountain,

Context #

When in Moses’ life the vision came

The vision happened after the burning bush and before the Exodus. The text itself places it: the Lord’s commandment “when he called unto me out of the burning bush” is something…

The vision happened after the burning bush and before the Exodus. The text itself places it: the Lord’s commandment “when he called unto me out of the burning bush” is something Moses looks back on (Moses 1:17), and the promise that he “shalt deliver my people from bondage” looks ahead (Moses 1:26). The vision “took place after Jehovah spoke to Moses at the burning bush but before Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt and through the Red Sea.” The exact time and place are not known, though it shows that the Lord went on instructing Moses beyond his first call.

What the mountain gives Moses is, on one reading, what the Exodus was meant to give Israel. At the bush the Lord told Moses that the people would “serve God upon this mountain” (Ex. 3:12). On this reading Moses’s own meeting with God was “what the Lord intended for all the children of Israel,” the purpose of the Exodus was to prepare the people “to see and converse with God,” and the vision is “paving the way” for the Lord’s statement of His work in Moses 1:39. It is a reading, not a statement of the text.

Sources: Moses 1:1–11, Pearl of Great Price Student Manual (Church Educational System, 2017). Aaron P. Schade and Matthew L. Bowen, “Moses 1: The Visions of Moses”, In The Book of Moses: From the Ancient of Days to the Latter Days (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2021). The Holy Scriptures (Latter-day Saint editions), text and chapter headings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

2 And he saw God face to face, and he talked with him, and the glory of God was upon Moses; therefore Moses could endure his presence.

3 And God spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name; for I am without beginning of days or end of years; and is not this endless?

4 And, behold, thou art my son; wherefore look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease.

5 Wherefore, no man can behold all my works, except he behold all my glory; and no man can behold all my glory, and afterwards remain in the flesh on the earth.

6 And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth; but there is no God beside me, and all things are present with me, for I know them all.

Witness of Christ #

The Lord speaking for the Father

The speaker is the premortal Jesus Christ, speaking in the Father’s name.

The speaker is the premortal Jesus Christ, speaking in the Father’s name. That is how He can say “mine Only Begotten” as if of another, wording that by itself leaves the impression that Moses is talking with the Father. Jesus Christ “sometimes speaks as if He were God the Father,” which is called divine investiture of authority.

The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve set the doctrine out in a joint exposition: “in all His dealings with the human family Jesus the Son has represented and yet represents Elohim His Father in power and authority,” and this was so in His premortal state, “in the which He was known as Jehovah.” The Father “placed His name upon the Son,” so that “so far as power, authority, and godship are concerned His words and acts were and are those of the Father.” President Dallin H. Oaks gave the reason a reader should expect this throughout scripture. Before the Fall the Father “spoke directly to Adam and Eve”; afterward He introduced His Son and commanded that He be heard, so that words the scriptures record as spoken by God or the Lord “are almost always the words of Jehovah, our risen Lord, Jesus Christ.” It is the kind of speech a prophet uses when he speaks in the Lord’s person: “the same pattern of authorized, delegated speech in the first person occurs throughout the scriptures, especially in the form of prophets speaking for the Lord.”

Sources: Moses 1; Abraham 3, Scripture Helps: Old Testament (2025). The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “The Father and the Son: A Doctrinal Exposition”, 30 June 1916; reprinted in Ensign, April 2002. Dallin H. Oaks, “The Teachings of Jesus Christ”, general conference, Apr. 2023. Aaron P. Schade and Matthew L. Bowen, “Moses 1: The Visions of Moses”, In The Book of Moses: From the Ancient of Days to the Latter Days (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2021).

Context #

No God beside me, spoken to a man raised in Egypt

This statement was made to a man who had grown up among many gods. Moses “was reared in an atmosphere of idolatry,” among “numerous deities,” the First Presidency taught, and to…

This statement was made to a man who had grown up among many gods. Moses “was reared in an atmosphere of idolatry,” among “numerous deities,” the First Presidency taught, and to begin his work “it was necessary to center his mind and faith upon God the Eternal Father as the only Being to worship,” who is approached “in the name of the Only Begotten.” The statement “should not be interpreted to mean that mankind does not have the eternal potential to become like God.”

The words just before it meet the same background. Moses’s upbringing has been described as in a royal household whose members were “believed to be ‘begotten’ incarnations of deities”; there he is told that he is “in the similitude of mine Only Begotten” and that there is no God beside the one speaking. It has also been suggested, as a possibility only, that “similitude” reaches beyond sonship to “the role Moses would play in saving and delivering Israel.”

7 And now, behold, this one thing I show unto thee, Moses, my son, for thou art in the world, and now I show it unto thee.

8 And it came to pass that Moses looked, and beheld the world upon which he was created; and Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are, and which were created; of the same he greatly marveled and wondered.

9 And the presence of God withdrew from Moses, that his glory was not upon Moses; and Moses was left unto himself. And as he was left unto himself, he fell unto the earth.

10 And it came to pass that it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.

Latter-day Prophets #

Man is nothing, and yet a son of God

Moses says “man is nothing” and then, three verses later, “I am a son of God,” and the chapter holds both.

Moses says “man is nothing” and then, three verses later, “I am a son of God,” and the chapter holds both. The first is said on the ground, after the glory has withdrawn and his strength is gone (Moses 1:9–10). The second is said to Satan (Moses 1:13), and it repeats what he was told at the start: “thou art my son” (Moses 1:4).

Moses had been “learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds” (Acts 7:22), and what he says he “never had supposed” was something that “in all his years in Pharaoh’s court, had never occurred to him before.” President Dieter F. Uchtdorf read the two sayings together as “a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God.” Neither cancels the other: “While against the backdrop of infinite creation we may appear to be nothing, we have a spark of eternal fire burning within our breast.”

Sources: Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “You Matter to Him”, general conference, Oct. 2011. The Holy Scriptures (Latter-day Saint editions), text and chapter headings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

11 But now mine own eyes have beheld God; but not my natural, but my spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld; for I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and I beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him.

Verses 12–23

Satan tempts Moses

In plain words

Satan comes and says, “Moses, son of man, worship me.” Moses asks who he is. Moses is a son of God in the likeness of His Only Begotten, and he asks where Satan’s glory is. He could not look on God without being transfigured, but he can look on Satan as he is. God’s Spirit has not left him, he says, so he can judge between them, and God has told him to worship God only. He cites what God said at the burning bush: call on God in the name of the Only Begotten. Satan rages and says, “I am the Only Begotten, worship me.” Moses begins to fear and sees the bitterness of hell, but he calls on God and receives strength, and commands Satan in the name of the Only Begotten to leave. Satan trembles, the earth shakes, and he goes, weeping and wailing. Moses wrote this account, but because of wickedness it is not had among the children of men.

12 And it came to pass that when Moses had said these words, behold, Satan came tempting him, saying: Moses, son of man, worship me.

13 And it came to pass that Moses looked upon Satan and said: Who art thou? For behold, I am a son of God, in the similitude of his Only Begotten; and where is thy glory, that I should worship thee?

14 For behold, I could not look upon God, except his glory should come upon me, and I were strengthened before him. But I can look upon thee in the natural man. Is it not so, surely?

Related Scriptures #

Glory as the way Moses knows whom to worship

Moses tests Satan by glory, and he says where his power to judge comes from.

Moses tests Satan by glory, and he says where his power to judge comes from. He “could not look upon God, except his glory should come upon me, and I were strengthened before him,” whereas he can look on Satan “in the natural man” (Moses 1:14). (The Church’s current edition reads “transfigured” for “strengthened”; the text here is the 1921 edition’s.) So he asks, “where is thy glory, that I should worship thee?” (Moses 1:13), and answers for himself that “it is darkness unto me” (Moses 1:15). The first vision had taught him “about God’s glory and the devil’s lack thereof.”

The comparison is not made by sight alone. Before Moses says “I can judge between thee and God,” he blesses God that “his Spirit hath not altogether withdrawn from me” (Moses 1:15): he “recognizes that it is only by the power of the Spirit that he can judge between the imitator and God himself.” Verse 18 gives the other ground, “his glory has been upon me, wherefore I can judge between him and thee” (Moses 1:18). Both manuscripts of the translation are fuller there than the printed text: “his glory has been upon me and it is glory unto me.”

Sources: Aaron P. Schade and Matthew L. Bowen, “Moses 1: The Visions of Moses”, In The Book of Moses: From the Ancient of Days to the Latter Days (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2021). Aaron P. Schade and Matthew L. Bowen, “Moses 1: The Work and Glory”, In The Book of Moses: From the Ancient of Days to the Latter Days (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2021), 91–106. The Holy Scriptures (Latter-day Saint editions), text and chapter headings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Pearl of Great Price, Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1921 edition (1929 printing), scanned at the Internet Archive.

15 Blessed be the name of my God, for his Spirit hath not altogether withdrawn from me, or else where is thy glory, for it is darkness unto me? And I can judge between thee and God; for God said unto me: Worship God, for him only shalt thou serve.

16 Get thee hence, Satan; deceive me not; for God said unto me: Thou art after the similitude of mine Only Begotten.

17 And he also gave me commandments when he called unto me out of the burning bush, saying: Call upon God in the name of mine Only Begotten, and worship me.

18 And again Moses said: I will not cease to call upon God, I have other things to inquire of him: for his glory has been upon me, wherefore I can judge between him and thee. Depart hence, Satan.

19 And now, when Moses had said these words, Satan cried with a loud voice, and rent upon the earth, and commanded, saying: I am the Only Begotten, worship me.

Related Scriptures #

Satan answers with the Savior’s title

Satan’s last move is to claim the Savior’s own title, and Moses’s last answer is to use the Savior’s name.

Satan’s last move is to claim the Savior’s own title, and Moses’s last answer is to use the Savior’s name. “Satan often impersonates or imitates God in His different capacities,” and this scene is one of the clearest examples: after Moses refuses to worship him, Satan shouts, “I am the Only Begotten, worship me.” Before he says it he “cried with a loud voice, and rent upon the earth”; the Church’s current edition reads “ranted” for “rent.”

Moses had been given the answer beforehand. At the burning bush the commandment was to “call upon God in the name of mine Only Begotten, and worship me” (Moses 1:17). He tells Satan to go four times. The first three (Moses 1:16; Moses 1:18; Moses 1:20) are in his own voice, and between them Satan rages, Moses fears, and Moses calls on God and receives strength. The fourth is “In the name of the Only Begotten, depart hence, Satan” (Moses 1:21), and in the next verse Satan is gone.

Sources: Scripture Central, “Why Did Helaman Compare Christ to a Rock?”, KnoWhy #176, Aug. 27, 2020. The Holy Scriptures (Latter-day Saint editions), text and chapter headings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Pearl of Great Price, Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1921 edition (1929 printing), scanned at the Internet Archive.

20 And it came to pass that Moses began to fear exceedingly; and as he began to fear, he saw the bitterness of hell. Nevertheless, calling upon God, he received strength, and he commanded, saying: Depart from me, Satan, for this one God only will I worship, which is the God of glory.

21 And now Satan began to tremble, and the earth shook; and Moses received strength, and called upon God, saying: In the name of the Only Begotten, depart hence, Satan.

22 And it came to pass that Satan cried with a loud voice, with weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth; and he departed hence, even from the presence of Moses, that he beheld him not.

23 And now of this thing Moses bore record; but because of wickedness it is not had among the children of men.

Verses 24–42

The earth, the worlds, and the Lord’s work

In plain words

Filled with the Holy Ghost, Moses calls on God and again sees His glory. A voice says he is chosen, that waters will obey him, and that God will be with him as he delivers Israel. Moses sees the whole earth and all its people, and many lands, each called earth. He asks why these things are so and by what they were made. The Lord answers: for His own purpose, and by His Word, His Only Begotten Son. Worlds without number have been created, some have passed away, and many stand. The Lord gives Moses an account of this earth only. Then He says His work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. He tells Moses to write what He will say, and says that when people take many of those words from the book, He will raise up another like Moses to restore them. The mountain’s name will not be known; the words are to be shown only to believers.

24 And it came to pass that when Satan had departed from the presence of Moses, that Moses lifted up his eyes unto heaven, being filled with the Holy Ghost, which beareth record of the Father and the Son;

25 And calling upon the name of God, he beheld his glory again, for it was upon him; and he heard a voice, saying: Blessed art thou, Moses, for I, the Almighty, have chosen thee, and thou shalt be made stronger than many waters; for they shall obey thy command as if thou wert God.

26 And lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days; for thou shalt deliver my people from bondage, even Israel my chosen.

27 And it came to pass, as the voice was still speaking, Moses cast his eyes and beheld the earth, yea, even all of it; and there was not a particle of it which he did not behold, discerning it by the Spirit of God.

28 And he beheld also the inhabitants thereof, and there was not a soul which he beheld not; and he discerned them by the Spirit of God; and their numbers were great, even numberless as the sand upon the sea shore.

29 And he beheld many lands; and each land was called earth, and there were inhabitants on the face thereof.

30 And it came to pass that Moses called upon God, saying: Tell me, I pray thee, why these things are so, and by what thou madest them?

31 And behold, the glory of the Lord was upon Moses, so that Moses stood in the presence of God, and talked with him face to face. And the Lord God said unto Moses: For mine own purpose have I made these things. Here is wisdom and it remaineth in me.

32 And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth.

33 And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten.

Witness of Christ #

Worlds without number, and the Son who made them

Moses asks two questions, “why these things are so, and by what thou madest them” (Moses 1:30), and the Lord answers the second first.

Moses asks two questions, “why these things are so, and by what thou madest them” (Moses 1:30), and the Lord answers the second first. To the why He says only, “For mine own purpose have I made these things. Here is wisdom and it remaineth in me” (Moses 1:31); the purpose is not stated until verse 39. To the “by what” He answers at once, and twice: “by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son” (Moses 1:32), and “by the Son I created them” (Moses 1:33). The order has been read as deliberate: “there was something Moses needed to recognize before he could understand why—it was the answer to his second question.”

The answer carries into the account Moses is told to write, which opens, “by mine Only Begotten I created these things” (Moses 2:1). “Creation by divine word, Christ as the divine Word, and the efficacy of divine words once spoken will constitute a dominant thread in the Book of Moses.” Of the worlds without number the Lord gives “only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof” (Moses 1:35).

Sources: Aaron P. Schade and Matthew L. Bowen, “Moses 1: The Work and Glory”, In The Book of Moses: From the Ancient of Days to the Latter Days (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2021), 91–106. The Holy Scriptures (Latter-day Saint editions), text and chapter headings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

34 And the first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many.

Language #

The name Adam and the many

“Which is many” has been read as a gloss on the name Adam. In this verse Adam is a personal name, the name of “the first man of all men,” but the Semitic word adam also means…

“Which is many” has been read as a gloss on the name Adam. In this verse Adam is a personal name, the name of “the first man of all men,” but the Semitic word adam also means humankind or people. On this reading “many” points to the numberless inhabitants of verse 28, the “people and generations stemming from Adam, the father of all humans, that Moses had just been shown in vision.” The verse does not explain the phrase itself, and this is one study’s proposal.

35 But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them.

36 And it came to pass that Moses spake unto the Lord, saying: 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.

37 And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine.

38 And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words.

39 For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

Witness of Christ #

The work and glory, and the two gifts

The Lord states His purpose as two gifts, and the verse is the answer to the “why” that Moses asked in verse 30 and was not told in verse 31.

The Lord states His purpose as two gifts, and the verse is the answer to the “why” that Moses asked in verse 30 and was not told in verse 31. “Immortality is to live forever as a resurrected being,” a gift everyone receives through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Eternal life, or exaltation, “is to live in God’s presence and to continue as families,” and it requires “obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.”

The two halves bear differently on the man being addressed. Immortality is “an aspect of the work that only the Savior could bring into effect.” The other half, bringing God’s children to eternal life, “was now also his work”: what Moses could help with was “a journey that would lead him and the people out of Egypt and into the wilderness to receive the covenant.” So the verse that states God’s work also tells Moses what the work of verse 6 (“I have a work for thee”) is for. This is offered as a reading of how the verse fits Moses’s call, not as something the verse says.

Sources: Moses 1; Abraham 3, Scripture Helps: Old Testament (2025). Aaron P. Schade and Matthew L. Bowen, “Moses 1: The Work and Glory”, In The Book of Moses: From the Ancient of Days to the Latter Days (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2021), 91–106.

40 And now, Moses, my son, I will speak unto thee concerning this earth upon which thou standest; and thou shalt write the things which I shall speak.

41 And in a day when the children of men shall esteem my words as naught and take many of them from the book which thou shalt write, behold, I will raise up another like unto thee; and they shall be had again among the children of men—among as many as shall believe.

Related Scriptures #

Words taken from the book, and restored

Verse 41 says that words will be taken from Moses’s book and had again, and the chapter has already given an instance: of the encounter with Satan “Moses bore record; but because…

Verse 41 says that words will be taken from Moses’s book and had again, and the chapter has already given an instance: of the encounter with Satan “Moses bore record; but because of wickedness it is not had among the children of men” (Moses 1:23). Nephi saw the same loss, “plain and most precious” parts taken from the book (1 Ne. 13:26–29), and Joseph Smith may have understood such words in the Book of Mormon as calling for a new translation, “although we cannot be certain of this.”

Whether the book of Moses gives back text that Moses once wrote is left open: it “may include the restoration of material that was lost,” and it “may also have been revelation given by the Lord to Joseph Smith that was never originally in the Bible.” Either way it restores truths that Nephi foretold would be lost. Moses 2–8 “presents information that is not found in the corresponding material in Genesis,” including the significance of the Fall, the importance of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and evidence that Adam and Eve and their descendants had the gospel.

Sources: Moses 1; Abraham 3, Scripture Helps: Old Testament (2025). Aaron P. Schade and Matthew L. Bowen, “Moses 1: The Visions of Moses”, In The Book of Moses: From the Ancient of Days to the Latter Days (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2021). The Holy Scriptures (Latter-day Saint editions), text and chapter headings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

42 (These words were spoken unto Moses in the mount, the name of which shall not be known among the children of men. And now they are spoken unto you. Show them not unto any except them that believe. Even so. Amen.)

Seeing Christ in Moses 1

Moses 1 names the Only Begotten in eight verses: the Lord speaks of Him, Moses calls on His name, and Satan tries to take His title (Moses 1:19). He is “full of grace and truth” and “is and shall be the Savior” (Moses 1:6). Moses is in His similitude (Moses 1:16), and His name is the one by which God is called upon (Moses 1:17; Moses 1:21). He is the Word of the Father’s power by whom worlds without number were created (Moses 1:32–33). And the work He serves is the immortality that, through the Atonement, “everyone will receive,” and the eternal life that the Atonement also makes possible (Moses 1:39).

Worth exploring next

The next chapter. Moses 2 begins the account Moses is told to write; the Creation “by the Son” in verse 33 is where it starts.
Moses and the burning bush. Ex. 3 is the call that Moses looks back on in verse 17.
Satan’s tempting of Jesus. In Matt. 4:8–10 Satan asks Jesus for worship, and the answer ends as Moses’s does in verse 15: “him only shalt thou serve” (Matt. 4:10).

This chapter elsewhere in scripture

Ex. 3 — The burning bush, to which Moses looks back in verse 17.
Matt. 4:1–11 — Satan asks Jesus for worship (Matthew 4:9–10).

Sources & further reading

The Holy Scriptures (Latter-day Saint editions), text and chapter headings, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Moses 1; Abraham 3, Scripture Helps: Old Testament (2025).
Moses 1:1–11, Pearl of Great Price Student Manual (Church Educational System, 2017).
Aaron P. Schade and Matthew L. Bowen, “Moses 1: The Visions of Moses”, In The Book of Moses: From the Ancient of Days to the Latter Days (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2021).
Aaron P. Schade and Matthew L. Bowen, “Moses 1: The Work and Glory”, In The Book of Moses: From the Ancient of Days to the Latter Days (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University; Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2021), 91–106.
The First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “The Father and the Son: A Doctrinal Exposition”, 30 June 1916; reprinted in Ensign, April 2002.
Dallin H. Oaks, “The Teachings of Jesus Christ”, general conference, Apr. 2023.
Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “You Matter to Him”, general conference, Oct. 2011.
Scripture Central, “Why Did Helaman Compare Christ to a Rock?”, KnoWhy #176, Aug. 27, 2020.