Joseph Brickey: Moses Seeing Jehovah, 1998
KnoWhy 01A for Personal Study of Gospel Doctrine Lesson 1: “This Is My Work and My Glory” (Moses 1) (JBOTL01A), 6 January 2018
Question: At the beginning of the vision that appears in Moses 1 in the Pearl of Great Price, Moses saw the “world … and all the children of men” (Moses 1:8). Then, near the end of the vision, he seems to have experienced the same thing again when he saw the “earth, and … the inhabitants thereof” (Moses 1:27-29). Why is this so?
Summary: Careful study of Moses 1 and similar documents from the ancient world reveals that Moses’ experience was a tutorial on the plan of salvation from a personal perspective, including his departure from God’s presence in the beginning and his glorious return to that presence in the end through his faithfulness. In verse 8, early on in the vision, it appears that Moses saw the premortal world and all the spirits that God had created (compare Abraham 3:22-23). Later, in verses 27-29, he seems to have experienced a view from heaven of the mortal earth and all its inhabitants.
The full article may be found at the Interpreter Foundation website: http://interpreterfoundation.org/why-did-moses-seem-to-repeat-the-same-experience-twice-in-his-vision/
