The first words of the Bible are, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). The Hebrew word for “God” in this verse is elohiym, which is the plural form of el, and el is the general word for God. This brings up the importance of names in scripture, and even how God is addressed. When you see el as part of a name there is always some connection with God. Names like Samuel (his name is El, or his name is God), Ezekiel (God strengthens), Daniel (God is my judge), Elijah (my God is Jehovah), Elisha (God is salvation), and Joel (Jehovah is God) just to name a few.
The name Elohim, besides being plural, also distinguishes Him as the supreme God, or we would say “God the Father.” Restoration scripture clarifies this, as God speaking of His creations said, “And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth” (Moses 1:32). This identifies Jesus Christ, or Jehovah in the Old Testament, as the Word, recalling John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Greek word for Word is logos. It is the origin for English words ending in logy, like biology, psychology, ecology, etc. and the word logic. A Greek philosopher named Heraclitus first used the term Logos around 600 B.C. to designate the divine reason or plan which coordinates a changing universe. (Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy (2nd ed): Heraclitus, 1999.)
Another el name is Michael, the archangel, who became Adam. Both names are interesting. Michael means, “who is like God,” and Adam means, “man or mankind.” Thus, Adam becomes a type for all of us. We can see how the name Adam is used generically in 1 Corinthians 15:45: “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” The “last Adam” is Jesus Christ, who overcame death and made resurrection a reality for all of us.
Words matter according to Elder Ronald A. Rasband, and they mattered in the Creation. Jewish tradition has it that ten utterances created the world. We find all of these in Genesis 1. It’s repeated in other verses. The Psalmist wrote, “For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:9).
In Abraham chapter 4, we see the plurality of the Gods. Everything is in passive form. The text reads, “they (the Gods).” The Gods ordered the expanse and ordered the waters, and “and it was so, even as they ordered.” “And the Gods watched those things which they had ordered until they obeyed.” (see Abraham 4:7, 9, 18).
Many of the Creation and Garden of Eden scenes are echoed in the New Testament, particularly in the Gospel of John where the miracles of Jesus are signs or tokens of His divinity and eternal salvific ministry. In the Gospel of John, there are seven specific miracles, and in every case, the Greek word for miracle is semeion, which means a sign or token. In contrast with the other (synoptic) Gospels, the Greek word for miracle is usually dynamis, meaning power.
In the New Testament, Jesus and some of His disciples are in a ship when a terrible storm erupts. Jesus “arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” His disciples ask, “What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (Mark 4: 39, 41). This event echoes the Creation when the elements obeyed the Gods.
Why is this important for us? In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Jacob explains how this creative power is shared with mortals. Jacob said, “we truly can command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey us, or the mountains, or the waves of the sea.” Jacob is quick to point out his mortal weakness and to give credit to the grace provided through the atonement of Jesus Christ in which He shares His power.
Jacob connects “the power of His word” to revelation as he relates, “For behold, by the power of his word man came upon the face of the earth, which earth was created by the power of his word. Wherefore, if God being able to speak and the world was, and to speak and man was created, O then, why not able to command the earth, or the workmanship of his hands upon the face of it, according to his will and pleasure?”
The ultimate blessing occurs two verses later in what has to be one of my favorite verses:
“Wherefore, beloved brethren, be reconciled unto him through the atonement of Christ, his Only Begotten Son, and ye may obtain a resurrection, according to the power of the resurrection which is in Christ, and be presented as the first-fruits of Christ unto God, having faith, and obtained a good hope of glory in him before he manifesteth himself in the flesh.” (Jacob 4:6-11).
Jesus Christ was the first to be resurrected and was the first-fruit of the resurrection. So how do we become first-fruits? Fifty days after Passover, there was a “feast of harvest,” or “the firstfruits of thy labors,” when a meal offering and two loaves of bread made of fine flour were presented before the Lord. The firstfruits were also considered to be the seven best products of Palestine, which were wheat, barley, oil, wine, figs, pomegranates, and honey. In the Book of Numbers, the firstfruits are described as, “All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the Lord, them have I given thee” (Numbers 18:12).
The ultimate blessing is that you have the opportunity to be presented at the veil as the very best, having been sanctified and purified through the atonement of Jesus Christ.